Second Chance
by Asukaforever92
Summary: AU. After killing Lauro, Elsa tries to end her own life but fate intervenes and spares her. She is soon given a newer and kinder handler but will the past still haunt her?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So my last work didn't do so hot plus I've struggled to write it. As such, I have decided to make some progress on my next work starring Elsa de Sica on the one year anniversary of my first Gunslinger Girl story which also starred Elsa. I just can't stand her tragic fate so I've decided to create a new destiny and hopefully a happier outcome for her. I hope you enjoy this new work.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

In Rome the darkness of the night sky engulfed the whole of the city while the only source of light in this dark abyss was the artificial glow of lamps. The still darkness of the night sky lay undisturbed in the city except for a park downtown where a man and his cyborg assassin were going for a late night stroll alone.

"So, what exactly did you want to show me out here again?" asked Lauro de Sica displeased about being dragged out at late night by a girl he hated to be around outside work.

"But Lauro, don't you remember this park?" asked Elsa as she felt her heart dropping in her chest, You brought me to this park and this is where you named me, Elsa de Sica."

"Oh, you serious?" asked Lauro rubbing the back of his head as his amazement, "I can't believe you would remember that."

"It's just an important moment I would never forget it. I would never forget the beautiful gift you've given me." answered Elsa as she tried to stay calm.

"Are you done? We have an early morning. I can't believe you dragged my out here for this." replied Lauro walking off as Elsa could feel her heart breaking.

"This is where you gave me life." said Elsa devastated as she turned and began following Lauro knowing her course of action. As the two walked Elsa drew her SIG P229 semi-automatic and aimed it at the back of her handler's head then pulled the trigger killing Lauro.

"Lauro." said Elsa sadly as she simply felt like breaking down but instead she put the barrel of her gun up to her eye and pulled the trigger. However, when she pulled the trigger nothing happened.

"What's going on?" asked Elsa pulling back the chamber she realized the gun had jammed.

"Damn." said Elsa who pulled out her cartridge so she could unjam her gun. Unfortunately, the cartridge fell from her hand and landed on the ground with a bounce that caused the bullets to roll out of the cartridge and away from Elsa.

"Oh no." gasped Elsa who quickly feel to her knees and began grabbing the picking up the bullets before she lost sight of them in the night's darkness.

Elsa managed to grab most of them and was getting ready to reload them into her gun when she noticed one more out of the corner of her eye. Reaching over she grabbed the bullet only to feel something wet on her hand.

"Please don't let it be that." begged Elsa as she slowly pulled her trembling hand back to her face. Once she did Elsa's worst fear was realized: the wet liquid on her hand was the blood of Lauro.

"No. No. Lauro...I'm...I didn't mean to...Please forgive..." stammered Elsa who dropped the bullets she had picked, fell to her side and curled up in the fetal position.

* * *

A few hours later Jean Croce passed back and forth in his office like a zoo animal in its cage.

"Where the Hell are Lauro and Elsa." said Jean displeased at the absence of the two and worried they had been ambushed as word of the missing fratello quickly spread around Section 2.

"Lauro may be cold-hearted but he's always been a consistent agent. Give him that much. I can't figure out what could have happened." mused Jose as a group of agents sat around waiting for the two to return.

"I'm sure he's fine." replied Marco, "Then again he won't be once your brother gets done with him."

"Can't argue with that." said Jose.

"Lauro and Elsa are a good team and since they're gone it can't be good." said Hilshire not knowing how right he was at that moment.

"Has a search team been sent out?" asked Priscilla.

"Jean is using old friends from the Military Police right now. He and Director Lorenzo don't want Section 1 finding out about this. It'd only give them more fuel to attack us." answered Jose.

"It might have been a kidnapping." said Alfonso.

"But we would have heard from the Padania. Hell, they would probably be gloating about it." pointed out Olga.

"We might have heard from them." replied Amadeo.

"Nothing." said Jose.

"If the Padania have taken Lauro and Elsa we would negotiate for them back?" asked Giorgio.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists." answered Ferro as the others grimaced knowing what that meant.

* * *

In the dormitory the girls had caught wind of the ongoing situation and were themselves just as puzzled as the adults.

"I wonder why Elsa and her handler aren't back yet." said Henrietta as the girls sat around the room shared by Triela and Claes eating fresh pastries the latter girl had just made.

"Maybe they ran away together." proposed Rico.

"Lauro isn't the type of guy to do that. He and Elsa are a great team but off duty he doesn't seem to like spending time with her." replied Triela.

"Whatever happened I'm sure the Ice Queen will be fine." said Claes as the girls heard somebody quickly walking by. Popping there they heads out they saw Jean walking quickly down the hallway.

"Sir." said Rico who instinctively stood at attention.

"They found Elsa. Wait here." said Jean and in two minutes he was headed out of the Agency with Lorenzo while Rico waited behind.

* * *

"It's a terrible scene." said the police detective as he and his partner stood over the body of Lauro.

"He was probably murdered at night." replied Deputy Inspector Valachi as he inhaled from his cigarette.

"Is the motivation robbery?" asked the detective.

"It doesn't look like it. His wallet and passport are untouched." answered the Valachi, "The victim is a man headed home with his kid."

"Do you think the perp dropped this gun?" asked the detective holding a SIG P229 semiautomatic pistol by the handle.

"German made automatic hand guns are rather rare here." answered Valachi who heard somebody call his name to see one of his men approaching him, "What?"

"A man from Intelligence is here." answered the officer.

"Bring him here." replied Valachi and the officer turned away and began leading the two men.

"What would Intelligence want here?" asked the detective.

"Looks like we've got a complicated case here." replied Valachi as the two men walked, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Are you the one in charge here?" asked Jean as the men approached.

"Yes. I'm Valachi, City Police Department." answered the Deputy Inspector, "_The Ministry is involved here. Wonder what's going on._"

"We assume this is related to some major case. We'll take over now." said Jean.

"All the necessary documents are here. If that's the case, please go ahead." said Valachi handing over the paperwork, "We can go on our Christmas vacation."

"Were they both dead?" asked Jean.

"Only the gun. The little girl with him is over there." answered Valachi pointing at Elsa was sitting in nearby wrapped in a green blanket, eyes as wide as saucers and mumbling to herself.

"Damn." said Jean as he and Lorenzo took in the site.

"I'll get out of your hair." said Valachi who then left the scene and headed towards his car.

"Inspector!" called out the detective who ran to catch up to his boss, "Don't you think something's strange here? Intelligence appeared so quickly."

"Don't worry about it. If they want to take this crap on themselves, let them." answered Valachi who then caught another glimpse of Jean who had made his way to the body of Lauro, "But that being said, I did feel something was different. For people from Intelligence, they were too well organized. And too eager to work."

"Are you sure he was one of ours?" asked Lorenzo while Jean knelt down next to the body.

"I'm sure of it." answered the blonde man, "This is Lauro de Sica and the girl was his cyborg Elsa de Sica. Lauro got his brains blown out and died instantly."

"Do you know who did it? Were these fratello on duty?" asked Lorenzo as Jean stood back up.

"According to our records they were on personal business. Our best bet would be talking to Elsa." answered Jean and the two men headed back to where the little blonde girl was sitting, "If it was an attack then it was likely the mafia or the Padania. Or Section 1."

"At any rate Section 1 will approach us about this so once the report is finished move the bodies. I'm going back to write the report to the damage manager. You try talking to Elsa." said Lorenzo as the two reached said girl and parted ways.

"Elsa, I need you to tell me what happened." said Jean firmly.

"Is Lauro okay?" asked Elsa nervously.

"He's dead." answered Jean which caused Elsa to begin trembling even more than she had been before.

"What happened?" asked Jean with force but Elsa began mumbling to herself and rocking back and forth.

"Answer me!" demanded Jean who grabbed Elsa by the collar and shook her but to no avail. Nothing wanting to be seeing shaking a visible distraught child in public, Jean placed Elsa in his car and they returned to the Agency. Upon arriving he gave Elsa to Dr. Bianchi for an evaluation and headed back to his office but along the way noticed Jose watching Henrietta trying out her new camera on Rico.

* * *

"How are they?" asked Jose almost afraid of the answer.

"Lauro is dead. Elsa is alive but apparently suffering trauma." answered Jean as he turned and watched the girls.

"They were a great fratello." noted Jose.

"Yes." answered Jean, "We're trying to wrap this up quickly."

"Section 1." replied Jose already knowing the answer.

"They haven't been too cooperative but they've left us alone." said Jean pulling out a cigarette and offering his brother one.

"I quit smoking." said Jose as Jean lit up his cigarette.

"For Henrietta?" asked the blonde man taking a drag.

"Yeah." answered Jose.

You're unbelievable." remarked Jean before taking another drag, "You're investing a lot of time in her."

"Something Lauro never did." said Jose as Henrietta took a picture of the brothers.

* * *

At Section 1 headquarters an agent stood in front of his boss.

"So you enjoyed your vacation then?" asked Draghi as he sat in his chair while Pietro Fermi stood in front of his desk.

"Yes sir." answered Pietro.

"Have you heard about the incident this morning?" asked Draghi.

"Yes. One of Section 2's agents was killed." answered Pietro.

"They haven't identified the perp yet. Serves the right for playing house." spat Draghi.

"I'm putting you in charge of the investigation. It'll be a great way to put Section 2 under pressure."

"What exactly would you want me to do?" asked Pietro.

"The key is to see if the cyborg has any practical implication in the future. If we can pin the agent's death on her then Section 2 is history." said Draghi with a sinister smile on his face.

"Roger." replied Pietro who then left the office and found his partner at her desk, "Eleanor! We're putting the report for yesterday's case on hold. We've got an urgent assignment."

"Yes sir." replied Eleanor who quickly grabbed her things and followed the male agent.

A/N: I'm going to end it there. I'm trying to get through the episodes/chapters on Elsa quickly so bare with me here. I will keep going on this story and "GSG: The Twilight Zone" flipping back and forth between the two. I will also be taking a hiatus from Gunslinger Girl soon because frankly I feel slightly burned out but I will return. I will get one more chapter of this story and my other up before that break. Anyway, I hope you guys will stick with me and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am now back with chapter two of "Second Chance". This story will finish the events covered in the manga/anime with a time skip jumping over the Jose/Henrietta trip to Sicily because it is not essential to story now that Elsa survives. Speaking of Elsa, she will appear at the end but this is the only chapter she has no dialogue. Finally, at the end Elsa's new handler is introduced.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

After a trip Pietro and Elenora arrived at Section 2. When they arrived they meet Jean and a small girl who Jean introduced as Rico.

"My name is Pietro and this is Elenora from Section 1." said the Pietro introducing himself and his partner.

"We've been told by our chief to give you our full cooperation." replied Jean shaking his hand but obviously not too pleased about this situation.

"_I smell gunpowder on that girl_. _It's as bad a combination as smelling perfume on a priest._ " said Pietro to himself, "What's your family name Rico?"

I don't have a family name." answered the girl.

"You're name is Rico but, you're a girl right?" asked Elenora.

"Each cyborg is named by his handler. He can him them whatever he pleases." answered Jean.

* * *

"Aside from the smell she seems like an ordinary Junior High School girl on a field trip." said Pietro himself as the four drove off to the crime scene.

"So, does Section 2 have any suspects yet?" asked Elenora as she sat next to Pietro was driving.

"We're still investigating." answered Jean who sat behind Pietro while Rico sat next to him looking out the window and marveling at the sights like a regular girl.

"I see." replied Elenora.

"Section 2 is in charge of killing people. They have enemies all over Italy." said Pietro, "Do you have to go out of your way to use kids?"

"Well, we could kill with guns or even bibles if we waned to." answered Jean, "If we were ordered to whack someone with the edge of a bible we'd do it."

"No wonder nobody likes your section." laughed Pietro as they arrived, "So...I guess it's a good thing you you have a big black bible over there at Section 2."

"Yeah." replied Jean as the four left the car and headed over to the seen where Lauro had been found.

"So this is where it happened." said Pietro.

"Indeed. The cyborgs have sharpened sense compared to their handlers. It seems their was an ambush and Elsa realized the attackers were there but, Lauro was unable to react in time. It's not that he was slow it's just Elsa was faster and able to survive." replied Jean, "This isn't the first time we've lost a handler, one was killed by Padania in a hit-and-run a few years ago but, his cyborg was not with him. This is the first time a fratello has been targeted together."

"A fratello?" asked Pietro, "Like a brother and sister."

"Indeed." replied Jean.

"Then do these kids make the call or just pull the trigger?" asked Pietro, "No matter how strong they are, if they're just puppets they could easily be caught off guard."

"Each handler can determine how he wants to train his cyborg. All the cyborgs go through a chemical brainwashing. We call it conditioning." explained Jean who grabbed Rico's coat collar, "In particular, they're made very sensitive to any threat to their master. A while back Elsa tried to break the arm of a waitress because she was about to spill a glass of water on Lauro."

"I guess they're not just puppets after all." said Pietro as he finished off his cigarette and pulled out a Euro coin which he threw at Jean. Rico quickly intercepted it as he it closed in on her handler and quickly whipped out her gun which she aimed at Pietro.

"I give." laughed Pietro holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Rico, put your gun away." ordered Jean before turning his attention to the Section 1 agent, "I understand you're curious but, if you weren't with the Agency you'd be dead by now. So now you know a little more about our cyborgs."

"But, that night Elsa failed to protect her handler. I guess that means cyborgs are human after all." replied Pietro bending down.

"What happened to the shells?" asked Elenora.

"Our staff is searching for them." answered Jean as Pietro stood back up, "If the perp was hit, we might be able to recover a blood sample."

"While they're searching let's go back to the Agency. I want to know more about Elsa." said Pietro and the four returned to the Section 2.

"Jean, can I see Elsa?" asked Pietro as they arrived back at the Agency.

"She's been quarantined for mental observation. Cyborgs will sacrifice themselves for their handlers so we can't be sure how here failure will affect her not to mention she's the only witness from the ambush." answered Jean, "But you can see her room. Rico will take you."

"I'll do with that." smiled Pietro knowing not to argue with Jean Croce.

"I'll take you're gun now." said the blonde man to his cyborg who handed him her gun and led the two agents to Elsa's room.

"So do you have a dorm room as well?" asked Pietro.

"Yes sir. This way please." answered Rico as she lead them.

* * *

"I've been thinking." said Pietro as the three headed up a staircase, "How do you feel about all this?"

"Elsa wasn't friendly, so we weren't close." answered Rico nonchalantly.

"But she is a comrade." pointed out Pietro.

"It has nothing to do with me." said Rico who led them right to their destination, "This is Elsa's room."

"It's so empty." noted Elenora as she and her partner stared around the barren room.

"Most of us share rooms but, Elsa lived alone." explained Rico as she opened the window.

"Does everyone have such a lifeless room?" asked Elenora as she looked at Elsa's bed.

"Henrietta and Triela have lots of stuff and keep getting more." answered Rico as Pietro pocketed a photo on Elsa's dresser that had a glimpse of Lauro, "I think their handlers give the stuff but, I'm not sure."

"Okay, let's go." said Pietro and they three left, "Is there anybody else who knew her?"

"Triela is coming back from Naples today." answered Rico who led them to the room said girl shared with Claes.

* * *

"Rico, are you already finished?" asked Triela who fixing the bow on one of her bears before turning around and seeing additional company, "May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Pietro and this is my partner Elenora. We're from Section 1." answered the man as he looked around, "_Books and stuffed animals._"

"This looks like my niece's room." noted Elenora to herself.

"They're investigating the Elsa case." explained Rico as Pietro and Triela sat across from each other at the table in the center of the room.

"She was totally in love with her handler Lauro like most of the girls here. I can't imagine how she must feel right now." answered Triela.

"Like you?" asked Pietro.

"Oh please. I do have some affection for him." answered Triela.

"Like...conditioning." proposed Pietro.

"Conditioning is a kind of love. I can't really tell how I feel toward him." answered Triela, "As a result of making us loyal, sometimes emotions that resemble love may develop...something like that. Elsa is a good example."

"Thank you. I'm glad we had the chance to talk." said Pietro who stood up and headed for the door with Elenora behind him.

"Next time you come over, could you at least bring some flowers." replied Triela as Pietro stopped at the door and turned his head back.

"Oh by the way, how do you feel about this whole ordeal?" asked the man.

"It's crummy but that's it. There's an unwritten rule here that you don't intervene in another fratello so whatever was going on between Elsa and Lauro was there business." answered Triela, "Besides Elsa was a loner and the only one she was close to was Lauro. I'm surprised she didn't try to kill herself after he died."

* * *

"What was the Section 1 agent like?" asked Lorenzo as he and Jean stood in the man's office.

"He seemed quit capable." answered Jean.

"We've got a problem with the ballistics." said Lorenzo as Jean looked through the coroner's report.

"This isn't good at all." said Jean as he read the file.

"If this is fact true, what can we do about it?" asked Lorenzo.

"My suggestion is to bury the ballistics and keep the story of a Padania ambush. If we recondition Elsa then you and I will be the only ones who know the truth." answered Jean.

"Understood." replied Lorenzo, "Though we will have to figure out what to do with Elsa. We can't just scrap her."

"Right but at the moment she has no handler." said Jean trying to of a solution.

* * *

"So, were the culprits Padania?" asked Pietro as he sat at his desk one day removed from visiting Section 2.

"We're not quite sure but we did find bloodstains from two wanted terrorists at the park." answered Jean who sat across from the Section 1 agent.

"They are a dangerous group. They don't think twice about attacking the police." replied Pietro who took a moment to think, "What of Elsa and her handler?"

"It seems there were simply too many Padania, she claims to have seen at least a half dozen." answered Jean lying through his teeth, "We have a long way to go before we make the cyborgs perfect."

"Our Section Chief will be satisfied with this." replied Pietro scratching his head.

"I'm not sure where they got the information but that night the terrorists were waiting for Lauro and Elsa." said Jean still lying through his teeth.

"It wasn't her fault really. I'm sure the cyborgs would happily die for their handlers." said Pietro.

"Correct. Thanks to the conditioning that is the case." replied Jean.

"Rico, would you be happy dying for Jean?" asked Pietro.

"I don't want to die but..." replied Rico thinking the question over.

"A cyborg exists to serve their handlers. It'd be natural for one to die for him." answered Jean for his girl.

"Rico..." began Pietro wanting her answer.

"If that's what Jean says then it must be true." replied the girl smiling which sent an uneasy feeling down to the core of Pietro.

* * *

A few days later, Section 2 Chief Lorenzo was sitting outside the Agency on a bench. He was petting his dog when Jean approached him.

"Did you authorize Jose to to take a vacation?" asked Lorenzo as Jean reached him.

"Yes. He took Henrietta to Sicily." answered Jean.

"Good. I want them to stay away from the Agency until this matter is resolved." replied Lorenzo.

"As usual, you're too easy on Jose." said Jean.

"They're naive. If they found out the truth, that would really rattle them. They need to be protected by the people around them." said Lorenzo, "How is Elsa?"

"She's still emotionally shaken." answered Jean.

"Any idea what we're going to do with her?" asked Lorenzo.

"We'll give her a new handler." said Jean.

"We are short-handed. Claes is out of combat and Angelica is constantly in-and-out of the infirmary for complications so we only have three fratello." said Lorenzo knowing they had no alternative.

"Indeed, and if you recall Claes and Raballo bonded mutually but in this case Elsa's devotion to Lauro was not returned. I think if we recondition her to forget Lauro altogether then should be able to find her a new handler." replied Jean.

"Do we have any candidates?" asked Lorenzo.

"We have one coming in next week." answered Jean.

"Then if he works we'll recondition Elsa and give her to him. Hopefully, this will have a better outcome." said Lorenzo.

* * *

The next week things at the Social Welfare Agency were back to as normal as they could get for a secret government agency using cyborg little girls as operatives. Jose and Henrietta had returned from Sicily and soon everybody at the Agency had heard of how Lauro had really died. Most everyone felt bad for the girl.

"The peppermint is growing well." noted Claes as she spotted a red convertible driving up to the Agency. When it stopped a man in his early thirties stepped out. He was six feet tall, in good physical condition. He was wearing a black suit and red tie. His hair was chestnut brown and his eyes were a dark blue.

"Hello!" called the man seeing Claes who walked over to him. By the accent of his voice she knew he was American.

"My name is Claes." said the girl shaking his hand.

"My name is James Harrison. I have a meeting with a Jean Croce but, I'm not sure where I'm going." replied the man embarrassed as a carfree laugh could be heard nearby.

"Oh good there's Rico." said Claes.

"He's really happy." said James.

"She is always happy and she can take you to Jean." replied Claes.

"That's a girl?" asked James.

"Her name and clothes would indicate otherwise but, yes, she is a female." said Claes, "Rico!"

"Hi Claes!" replied he girl happily running over to her comrade, "Whose he?"

"This is James and he has a meeting with Jean but he's lost." explained Claes.

"I'll take you." said Rico.

"Thank you both of you girls." replied James before following Rico who happily skipped away.

* * *

"My this is a nice Agency." said James as he walked behind Rico.

"I love the Agency!" replied Rico.

"That's a good attitude." said James, "So, do you girls live here?"

"Yup. There are tons of girls and they're really nice. Henrietta is my roommate and our fratello are brothers." answered Rico.

"Your fratello?" asked James confused.

"Yeah. Henrietta's fratello is Jose and mine is Jean. They're also brothers." answered Rico explaining.

"I understand now." said James as he continued to follow Rico.

"Hi Rico." said Angelica as she walked down the hallway with Marco after a day at the gun range before noticing James, "Who are you?"

"My name is James Harrison. I'm interviewing for a job here." answered the Yankee.

"Nice to meet you." said Marco shaking his hand.

"Thanks but I'm kind of nervous." admitted James.

"Jean can be...though." replied Marco watching his words about Jean around Rico, "But, he is fair so I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Glad to hear that." said James who said a final farewell to Marco and Angelica before departing again.

* * *

"Here we are." said Rico as they arrived at Jean's office and she knocked on the door.

"I'm busy." called out Jean from behind the door.

"It's me sir." said Rico identifying herself.

"What do you want?" asked Jean clearly annoyed as James realized what Marco was talking about.

"I have someone who says he has an interview today." answered Rico as footsteps could be hear and the door opened.

"You must be Mister Harrison." said Jean extending his hand.

"And you must be Mister Croce." said James shaking his hand.

"Rico, go practice your self-defense training." said Jean and the little girl went off, "Please come in."

"Of course." replied James who followed Jean into the room and sat across from the man at his desk.

"James Micheal Harrison. Born on 20 September 1977. Graduated from Boston University in 1998 then moved to the District of Colombia and joined the CIA. You spent a decade there and now are applying here." said Jean reading from the man's resume.

"Very true." said James confident he meet the requirements needed.

"Why are applying here?" asked Jean.

"I thought a change of scenery could do me good." answered James.

"Why Italy?" asked Jean.

"I'm fond of Italian culture and I'd hate to see all the hard work of Count Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi be undone." answered James.

"Good answer." replied Jean, "Obviously you're opposed to the Padania."

"Indeed. They are terrorists plain and simple. Nothing more." replied James.

"You might be required to to take actions that might seem questionable. More so than anything you've done before." said Jean.

"I can handle it." said James.

"Trust me, your years at the CIA won't prepare you for this." said Jean.

"Are the Padania really that bad?" asked James.

"Very much so." answered Jean.

"I've heard as much. No matter how much they fancy themselves as rebels they're simply terrorists." said James, "True resistance fighters or insurgents don't kill innocent people."

"Well put." said Jean remembering his own grandfather, "Have you ever been to Italy before?"

"I have. A few years ago I worked with this country's Intelligence to help track down a rouge agent. Unfortunately, we lost his trail and the case went cold." answered James.

"That can happen." replied Jean.

"I hope that doesn't outshine all my success." said James.

"That is simply a reality within our field. I see no other flaws in your resume or career to hinder you." said Jean, "James, welcome to the Social Welfare Agency."

"Thank you very much. You won't regret this." said James again shaking Jean's hand.

"One more question: do you like children?"asked Jean.

"Yes I do and I've meet three of your girls so far: Claes, Rico and Angelica." answered James.

"Good. Follow me." replied Jean who lead James out of his office and eventually to the infirmary where they found a man reading a file.

"Hello Jean, this the new member?" asked the man.

"Yes. This is James Harrison." said Jean, "And this is our esteemed Dr. Bianchi."

"Nice to meet you." said James.

"Same here, I'll take you to her." said Bianchi.

"Who am I being brought too?" asked James they walked.

"Your new little sister." answered Jean as they reached the room, "This is Elsa de Sica."

"She is a cute kid." said James looking at the girl lying lifeless on a hospital bed.

"James, we're a very special Agency and these aren't normal girls." began Jean.

"They seem normal to me." replied James.

"These girls are cyborgs. They're ninety-five percent machine: artificial skin, synthetic muscles, fiber glass eyes and carbon reinforced skulls. They're also given a treatment called conditioning which makes them loyal to their handlers. Their handlers, who are also their fratello, then train them and they're used as agents themselves. You and Elsa will work together on missions to combat the Padania." explained Jean.

"Give me a second." said James rubbing his eyes wondering what he had gotten himself into.

"I know this is probably a lot to take in." said Jean, "But while it might seem questionable from an ethical standpoint I can assure you it's a vital necessity."

"Any means necessary, huh?" asked James.

"Quite so." said Jean.

"Well in that case I guess I have a new sister." said James uncertain about his new job.

A/N: There's chapter two and in case you were wondering the rouge agent James was talking about was John Doe, the same man who trained Pinocchio. As I previously stated it will be a while before I return to Gunslinger Girl and I'm expected my next chapter of this story in November but until then I hope you check out my other works too. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Look whose back a month early. I felt burned out on my other works so I'm back here now and ready for my next chapter.

Thanks to my friend Sebastian for his help on the bracelet and my story in general.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

James Harrison had a lot on his mind as he walked down the hallways of the Social Welfare Agency. He had just learned about his new job and while accepting it he knew it'd be difficult to get used to. Now, he was heading back to his new apartment to settle-in but he couldn't get the image of Elsa out of his mind.

"Hey!" called a voice from down the hall and James turned to see three men headed his way.

"Hello." replied James as the man arrived.

"You must be the new guy we heard of." said a second man as they reached James.

"My name is Alfonso." said the first man.

"Mine is Amadeo." added the second.

"Are you going to introduce me?" asked the third man.

"Do it yourself." answered Alfonso.

"I'm Giorgio." said the man.

"So, I'm guessing you're my new co-workers." said James with a laugh.

"Yeah. Glad to meet you." replied Alfonso.

"So, you got a wife or a girlfriend?" asked Amadeo.

"I've had several girlfriends even ones I've lived with but none too serious to marry. I actually broke up with my last one because she didn't want to leave the US because her family was still there and we knew a long-distance relationship wouldn't have worked for us." answered James.

"Well Rome has got tons of hot chicks waiting to get picked up. You'll find a hot one soon enough." replied Giorgio.

"Oh is that so?" asked a female voice causing all four men to turn around and see the two women behind them.

"Hello. You must work here to, my name is James Harrison and I just joined the Agency." said the man extending his hand.

"My name's Priscilla. I mostly gather intelligence." said the first woman shaking his hand.

"And mine is Olga." said the second woman nearly crushing James' hand with her grasp.

"Nice to meet you both." replied James rubbing his sore hand.

"So, when are starting?" asked Priscilla.

"Right now I guess." answered James, "Though I must admit when Jean told me about the cyborgs I was definitely surprised. That was not in the job description."

"Everyone that starts here has issues with that at first but they girls are sweet. You'd never guess they're cyborgs." said Olga.

"I guess I'll find that out first hand since I'm a handler." replied James.

"Oh, so you've got a girl of your own." said Alfonso.

"I think Jose and Henrietta are returning from a mission right now." noted Amadeo.

"I'd like to meet them." said James.

"Sure we'll take ya." replied Giorgio and the group headed to the entrance showing James around the Agency until they saw Jose and Henrietta.

"Hello, are you visiting?" asked Jose seeing the man.

"No. My name is James Harrison and I'm the newest handler here." answered James.

"Glad to meet you. I'm Jose Croce and this is my girl Henrietta." answered the man.

"Nice to meet you both." replied James, "Can I ask you something, exactly how do you raise these girls?"

"Each handler raises there girl they way they see fit and there's an unwritten rule we don't interfere with another fratello." answered Jose.

"Thanks. I'm nervous. I've never really been around kids much." said James.

"I'll sure you'll be fine Mr. Harrison." said Henrietta.

"Thank you and please call me James. Otherwise I'd feel older than I am." replied the American with a laugh.

"So, have you met your girl yet?" asked Jose.

"Jean showed me here a little while ago. He told me her name was Elsa de Sica." answered James which caused everybody else to cringe.

"Well, the best of luck to you." said Jose.

"Why would I need luck?" asked James confused.

"Elsa is know around here as the Ice Queen." answered Alfonso.

"Meaning she has a tendency of shutting out people around her and generally being unpleasant to be around at times." added Amadeo.

"I hate to say this but she can act like a real bitch at times." said Giorgio.

"Oh really." said James more concerned now.

"You're her handler though so she be loyal to you." said Jose, "Don't worry."

* * *

After leaving the Agency, James began returning to his new apartment but he couldn't forget Elsa. He decided to stop at a cafe and think over what he had gotten himself into.

"So I now am the partner of a cyborg little girl with a volatile temper. Just freaking great." said James as he sat slowly sipping his drink, "All my years of training and combat haven't prepared me for this."

* * *

The next day at the Social Welfare Agency, a nervous James Harrison sat in the infirmary room of Elsa de Sica. The young girl was lying on a bed in front of him wearing only a hospital gown and any moment was ready to return awake from her unconscious state and meet her new handler who had been sitting for over an hour as he nervously awaited her waking up.

"God, please let this go well." said James and at that moment Elsa sat up in her bed and quickly noticed the man.

"Who are you?" asked Elsa clearly ready to snap the man's neck in a heartbeat.

"Nice to meet you too. My name is James Harrison." answered the man.

"Then you are my handler. I await orders sir." replied Elsa quickly submitting to the man.

"_Damn, that conditioning is amazing._" thought James to himself before talking to the girl, "Your clothes are right here. I'm going to go into the hallway so you change then you'll take me to your room."

"Yes sir." replied Elsa obediently and in a few minutes she exited wearing her boots, skirt and blue shirt.

"Well, you look really nice. Now please take me to your bedroom." said James upon seeing her.

"Yes sir." replied Elsa again obediently as she lead her new handler to her room.

"Not very much here." noted James as he entered the room.

"I don't need many luxuries to live. I do fine with minimums." said Elsa entering behind James and shutting the door.

"I know a few people who could live more like this." laughed James as he took a seat at the table in the middle of the room, "Join me Elsa."

"Yes sir." replied the girl quickly taking a seat across from the man.

"Elsa, since you and I will be partners now I think we should get to know each other." said James.

"What do you mean?" asked Elsa confused.

"Well we're going to be working together and I'd like to get to know you." said James.

"Like what?" asked Elsa.

"Like your interests, hobbies, favorites music. Things like that." answered James.

"My life is my work. I take little time for silly distractions outside that." replied Elsa.

"Okay, well let me tell you about myself then. I'm from Massachusetts and I worked ten years at the CIA before coming here. I like music, writing, politics and history. I like rock bands mostly from the 60s, 70s and 80s though I like some older stuff and a little newer. I also like some classical and opera as well." said James, "You have to some intrests."

"Not really." replied Elsa.

"What do you do when you're not on a mission?" asked James.

"I sit here and prepare my weapons." answered Elsa.

"You must spend time with the other girls." said James.

"No. I have no need to associate with anybody other than my handler." said Elsa.

"So, you're a loner. Well, I guess if that's who you are then I can't force you to change but you could try to be nicer to the other girls since I heard your nickname is the Ice Queen." replied the ex-CIA agent.

"I see no reason to." said the blonde.

"They're your comrades and surrogate sisters. Plus they're human." replied James who could see Elsa was uncomfortable, "I'm sure you have to have some interest or hobby. To be honest, I was hoping we could find something we both enjoy

"I would be willing to try and invest in one of your interests sir." replied Elsa.

"Well I am really big into history and I know a thing or two about Italian history." mused James.

"I'll listen and take an interest in that sir." replied Elsa.

"Are you sure?" asked James, "Most people find it boring."

"I am certain sir." answered Elsa.

"Okay. In prehistory, the Italian peninsula was very different than it is today. During the glacial period, Elba and Sicily were part of the mainland, the Adriatic Sea began at the Gagano peninsula in the Apulia region and Venice was fertile plains." began James.

"Humans must have been around then." noted Elsa.

"Very good. Archeological findings tell us Neanderthals have been present here since 50,000 years ago. Cro Magnon migrated from Apulia forming small settlements from 43,000 to 45,000 years ago. Around 12,000 years ago they headed to the coast due to dwindling number of big game." replied James.

"So that is how life here began."said Elsa.

"Indeed. Four waves of immigration followed; the first came during the Copper Age when the Indo-Europeans arrived in the Po river valley bringing copper tools with them, second was during the Bronze Age when tribes identified with the Beaker culture settled in Northern to Central Italy and the coasts of the two islands, the third was in the mid-Second Millennium BCE when tribes associated with the Terramare culture arrived and finally the Proto-Villanova who moved into Southern Italy. Meanwhile on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia were the Nugagic civilization which lasted from the Bronze Age until the Second Century CE. They were best know for the Giants' graves." continued James.

"Okay." replied Elsa as James got up and began walking around the girl's room.

"What are you looking for sir?" asked Elsa as she followed her handler.

"It's so weird to see a little girl living in such a barren room." answered James as he opened Elsa's closet door to find it half empty, "Elsa, where are your clothes?"

"These are all my clothes." answered Elsa.

"But they're all I need." replied Elsa.

"I can't stand for that. Put on your jacket you and I are going clothes shopping." said James.

"Yes sir." replied Elsa unable to disobey her handler and after quickly throwing on her green jacket, pink scarf and green beret she was ready to go.

"My you look cute." said James causing Elsa to blush, "Well, let's go Elsa."

"Right." replied the little blonde who followed the man.

"Hey James." said Jose running back to James near the entrance of the Agency.

"Hey Jose. I'm taking Elsa to get a few clothes." replied James.

"Just be sure to sign her out." said Jose.

"Okay." said the ex-CIA agent who signed Elsa out and soon the two were gone.

* * *

After leaving the Social Welfare Agency the duo headed to the Porta di Roma shopping mall in Rome. James parked and two entered. They headed for the first clothes store they saw.

"Okay Elsa I don't have much right now so we'll only get you a few things." said James.

"Right sir." replied Elsa as James found a button-up white dress shirt.

"What do you think of this?" asked James.

"It's looks nice sir." answered Elsa.

"And it's not too expensive." said James examining the price tag and handing it to Elsa before taking a light blue sundress of a rack, "What about this?"

"It looks nice sir." replied Elsa who spent the next ten minutes picking out clothes with James and trying them on. Soon there was a small piles of clothes to keep and one of clothes to return.

"Well that should be good. Anything that catches your eye?" asked James who had so far picked out all the clothes.

"This is beautiful." answered Elsa taking an elegant, dark red dress with black lace off the rack.

"Perfect for a night out at a classy affair. Good pick." said James.

"I'll try it on." replied Elsa who headed to the dressing room.

"Elsa looked so nice in those dress but I wish there was something more I could do for her." said James to himself as he waited for Elsa.

"Are you alright sir?" asked an employee who noticed him.

"I'm fine." answered James as two teen girls entered the store.

"You're charm bracelet is so cool." said the first as the two headed over to the swimsuits.

"Yeah, it's so awesome all the others girls will be so jealous." said the second.

"That's it." said James to himself as Elsa came out.

"How do I look?" asked the little blonde.

"Absolutely stunning." answered James, "Elsa, I'll be right back. Return the clothes you're not getting and wait in line at the checkout. I'll be right back."

"Okay sir." replied Elsa as James quickly left the clothing store and headed to a nearby jewelry store.

"May I help you sir?" asked an employee as James entered.

"I just became the legal guardian of a twelve year-old girl and I was looking for a bracelet for her." answered the ex-CIA agent.

"I'll show you what we have." said the employee showing James the vast collection of bracelets they had until James' eyes came to rest on a gold bracelet with a small rose on the top.

"That's it." said James knowing that was exactly what he wanted.

"Good choice sir. That's a fine piece." replied the employee who headed to the cash register and after paying a good amount James headed back to the clothing store with the bracelet in his pocket.

"Milena, I know this is exactly what you would want me to do." said James as he entered the store.

"Is everything alright sir?" asked Elsa as James met back up with her.

"Yeah." answered James who paid for the clothes.

* * *

James waited in line and paid for the new clothes then returned to the Agency with Elsa. When they got back they returned to the young girl's room and put everything away.

"Everything is in it's desired location." reported Elsa as if putting away clothes was a mission.

"You can relax. When we're not at work I want you to have fun. You deserve some aspects of a childhood." replied James, "Now close your eyes. I have one more surprise."

"Understood." said Elsa shutting her eyes.

"Open them." said James softly and when Elsa did she saw the gold bracelet in it's box in front of her.

"Is this for me?" asked Elsa dumbfounded by this act of kindness.

"Yes it is." answered James as the took the bracelet and slide it around Elsa's right wrist with the small rose facing up, "This is a symbol of our new relationship. Sorry it's not pure gold."

"Thank you sir." said Elsa blow away by the nice attitude of her new handler which felt so foreign to her.

* * *

Five days after the shopping trip and six after James arrival at the Agency he and his fellow employee were in the briefing room being brought up to date on the newest information gathered and currently going over the aftermath of last night's mission.

"Minister Petris has informed us she is pleased with our success last night on our mission. The Padania were killed and the Senator's daughter protected with only one injury on our side." said Ferro.

"Marco, how is Angelica?" asked James who had missed the mission.

"Whatever." answered Marco bitterly.

"Well in any sense the mission was a success." said Ferro, "Moving on. James, how are you and Elsa doing as a fratello?"

"Elsa and I are fine. We've been at the gun range this week and we've done some mock missions to get ourselves in synch and we're running like clockwork." answered James.

"Speaking of missions; I believe Priscilla might have a new one." said Jean.

"His name is Gino Risasso and he's a Forward on the unofficial Padania national football team." began Priscilla sliding a picture of the man across the table so everybody could look at him.

"They were the 2008 VIVA World Cup champions." noted James.

"Well the Americans actually knows he's football." said Alfonso.

"Anyway, the Revenue Agency noticed his tax returns were off and did a through investigation. This revealed he's been funneling money to the Republican Faction." finished Priscilla.

"Obviously this must be stopped and since he has no real importance we'll simply assassinate him." added Jean.

"Jean, I volunteer Elsa and I for this mission." said James, "It's work but it's not that difficult at the same time. I believe it's a good starting point to getting Elsa back on missions."

"I see you're point and I agree. You and Elsa are responsible for this mission just make it look like a botched robbery." replied Jean.

"Yes sir." said James who couldn't wait to tell Elsa about this.

A/N: So there's chapter three and a plenty of stuff went down. James and Elsa have a good chemistry going so far which they'll need. In case you're wondering Milena is a female Slavic name meaning gracious and there is a story behind that. About the history lesson; we'll I am a history buff but besides that it's good in case you don't know they history behind the Padania movement. And I do have another plan for it just like the bracelet. Don't worry it won't be to detailed either so nobody gets to bored. Anyway, next time James and Elsa have their first mission together. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I am back now with my next installment of my "Second Chance". I wanted to take this moment to say my next installment of my other story, GSG: The Twilight Zone, is now on hiatus until further notice due to issues writing it on my part.. Anyway, this story features the first mission of James and Elsa as a fratello. I'm not trying to offend anyone here so please don't take things the wrong way.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

In her bedroom, Elsa de Sica was preparing her weapons for her use. It was a common for Elsa, sitting alone in her room cleaning and preparing her weapons was one of her most common activities. But, rather simply focusing on her task her mind was elsewhere today. She couldn't stop thinking of her shopping trip with James as she kept staring at the bracelet he bought her as it sat on her right wrist.

"My handler paid for this with his own money. It's a gift. It feels so weird. Like, I'm finally being given something I was deprived before. This feeling...it's love. I'm sure this is the conditioning. I think. I'm never letting this bracelet out of my sight." vowed the girl as she mused her situation before a knock came on her door.

"Elsa, it's me." said James from outside.

"Come in sir." replied Elsa blushing as she jumped up and quickly headed to the door to greet her handler.

"Hey Elsa, I've got exciting news." said James entering the room to face his girl, "You and I have our first mission together."

"Who is it sir?" asked Elsa eager to please James.

"His name is Gino Risasso and he's a Forward on the Padania national football team. An investigation into inaccurate tax returns revealed he's funneling money to the Republican Faction so we're going to kill him and make it look like a botched robbery." answered James.

"I understand sir." replied Elsa sounding more like a soldier than a young girl.

"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon so I want you to get target practice in before we go. Don't stay up to late so you can wake up early, okay." said James.

"Yes sir." replied Elsa as James left.

* * *

That night Elsa tried to sleep as James had told her. She was far too nervous to sleep with her first mission as James girl coming up. What felt weirder was Elsa felt like it wasn't her first mission at the Agency but, she brushed that off. Luckily, she managed to fall asleep soon enough and thus was able to wake up a descent time. Elsa quickly showered and ate so then headed off to the gun range so she would be early for James. She waited bundled in her jacket, beret and with her scarf around her neck as she waited in the cold morning.

"I hope James will be happy I'm early." said Elsa nervously as she awaited her handler.

"Hey Elsa." said Jose as he and Henrietta finished a round of their own and were just leaving when they noticed the blonde.

"Is your handler coming?" asked Henrietta.

"He'll be here. I was just early." answered Elsa in a huff.

"Alright then." replied Jose trying to prevent an escalation between the two before noticing James heading their way.

"Hello sir. I came early so we could practice as much as needed." said Elsa quickly running over to her handler.

"Good girl." replied James her which cause the blonde to blush.

"Good luck today." said Jose who led Henrietta away while Elsa shot the brunette a dirty look.

"Well, let's go Elsa. We don't have much time before we go." said James who headed to the gun range with Elsa following right behind him.

In the gun range Elsa excelled at her practice. James had to come to expect this after a week with the the girl but, this time something it was different. When it was just paper Elsa was shooting at James could handler it but, thinking of a young girl shooting and killing a grown man was making the ex-CIA agent antsy.

"_It took some time to get used to seeing a twelve-year old using a gun. I'm okay with her shooting targets but, even when she fires at human targets I still get this knot in my stomach. I don't know if I can go through with this. Elsa is a little girl, she should be even holding a gun let alone killing terrorists. I don't know if I can go through with this._" said James to himself as he watched the little blonde finishing her target practice.

"Was that good sir?" asked Elsa as she mad eye contact with James which made him uncomfortable.

"Yes Elsa. That was fine." answered James hiding how uncomfortable he was which only got worse when Elsa smiled at the response, "_I've got to talk to the other handlers. Maybe, they can give me some advice._"

"I'm ready to go sir." said Elsa snapping James out of his inner dialogue.

"That was fast." said James amazed.

"Thank you sir." replied Elsa and the departed the gun range only to spot another blonde heading there way.

"Hey Rico, what's wrong?" asked James noticing the somber expression on her face before realizing her left cheek was bright red, "What happened?"

"I was learning new defense maneuvers but, I made several mistakes so Jean scolded me." answered Rico upset but, disturbingly calm, "So he told me to practice my aim."

"Well, I won't distract you anymore." said James uneasily as Rico walked by him, "Elsa, head to your room and grab a spare cartridge in case you need it then wait at my car. I'm going to get one last debriefing before we leave.

"Yes sir." replied Elsa obediently before quickly taking off.

"I really got myself in a real fucked up situation." moaned James before leaving to find another handler.

* * *

Inside the Agency, work went on as usual. Priscilla, Olga, Ferro, Alfonso, Amadeo and Giorgio were doing their usual work and since things were going slow Hilshire and Jose were lending them a hand.

"I can't wait for the spring." sighed Alfonso as ran through evidence of cases the Agency was currently working on, "It's so cold even the terrorists are taking the day off."

"It wouldn't be so bad if Jean let us turn the heat up a little higher." added Amadeo.

"You two wouldn't last a day with the winters back home." laughed Olga.

"Well things are slow today. The only fratello on a mission is James/Elsa." said Hilshire.

"I saw them headed to the gun range a little earlier for last minute practice." said Jose.

"James actually seems like a nice person. I think he and Elsa could make a good team." said Priscilla.

"He can't be any worse than Lauro." replied Giorgio.

"I have to agree there. The way Lauro treated Elsa on our mission in Tuscany was low." said Jose.

"And with the way these girls are conditioned you can't blame Elsa for what she did." said Olga.

"Conditioning comes at quite a cost." noted Hilshire.

"We all the knew the cost when we joined. Defeating the Padania is what's most important." said Ferro dedicated as usual.

"Luckily, James is different from Lauro. Those two could be a much better team." said Priscilla.

"He can't be too soft though or Elsa might get weak." countered Ferro.

"The guy's ex-CIA, I doubt that will be a real issue." replied Giorgio.

"He worked there for over a decade so he's got plenty of experience." added Alfonso.

"He has seen combat. I read in his file a few years back she strangled a high ranking Al-Qaeda member to death with a garrote wire." replied Priscilla.

"I take back what I said about him being soft." said Ferro smiling.

"Well, that's what we all signed on for." said Amadeo.

"Before I forget." said Olga, "I actually saw his file myself and Jose, you'll be interested in knowing he served in the Kosovo War as part of the the peacekeeping mission mostly training members of what became the Kosovo Protection Corps. It was right after he joined the CIA too so this was probably his first time seeing combat."

"The Balkans was my first combat. I know he must have felt." replied Jose having flashbacks.

"At least he does seem to treat Elsa fairly well. So, if he does his job well and actually treats her right than I say it's a win-win." said Priscilla which stirred up a memory in Hilshire.

"I just remembered something, the night after the Tuscan mission I stopped by a bar for a few drinks and found Lauro there. We talked but, when I complimented him on the mission he shook it off. Then when I mentioned Elsa he just commented how useless she'd been. I tried to get him to ease up but, he wouldn't. Hell, I remember he said on the trip to Tuscany Elsa told him she would do her very best and replied by raising the volume on the car radio to keep her from talking." said the German clearly angry as the door opened and James entered.

"Speak of the devil." said Olga.

"You were talking about me?" asked James, "I wasn't sneezing."

"We were talking about your first mission with Elsa." answered Jose.

"That's why I'm here; I'm feeling cold feet about doing this." admitted James.

"That's common really. I was outraged when I first learned about the true nature of the Agency." replied Hilshire.

"I was apprehensive too but, I think if you treat the girls like girls then I can handler it." added Jose.

"Okay that's good to hear. I'm still a little iffy about this." said James.

"The more missions you're on the easier it gets." said Jose, "By the way, I heard you were in Kosovo in the late 1990s."

"Yeah. It's not something I'm too fond off." replied James tensing up.

"I know how you feel, I was Bosnia myself." said Jose, "Humanity as it's lowest."

"Amen to that. The whole Yugoslav Wars were like that." said James, "What's worse is the blatant bias and blind-eye turning."

"What do you mean?" asked Hilshire.

"Most people only think of the Serbian crimes and while I'm not denying they happened or trying to downplay them but, they weren't the only ones." answered James.

"True. There were crimes all around." replied Priscilla.

"Exactly and we worked with these forces. When I was in Kosovo we worked along side the Kosovo Liberation Army which had been a designated terrorist group up until the war. While we aided them we completely ignored the fact the KLA were carrying out a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kosovo Serbs and even targeted moderate Albanians. Look at the the Lake Radonjić massacre in 1998."

"Sad, but very true." sighed Jose.

"Now the same bloodshed is here in Italy." added Olga.

"Not after we're finished." replied James.

"So, you're finally on board?" asked Giorgio.

"Yeah. If Kosovo thought me anything it's you need to crush terrorists with no mercy. Any means necessary until the job is over. Talking about those days reminded me of that." answered James, "By the way, when I was leaving the gun range I saw Rico who had a red cheek which she said Jean scolded her."

"Yeah. Jean can...though at times." answered Alfonso.

"More like abusive." replied Amadeo.

"My brother has taken our past turmoils hard and can lash out." explained Jose.

"I'm very much aware of the Croce Incident but, I don't get why he takes it out on Rico." said James.

"Jean will snap at anybody if you cross him. As his cyborg, Rico is constantly around and thanks to the fact she's blindly loyal to him plus her body won't be harmed by the physical punishment, she takes most of it." replied Jose.

"Oh. Well, Elsa is waiting so I best be off." said James.

"Good luck." replied Hilshire and with that James left.

* * *

James quickly made it to his car were Elsa was waiting and they two took off. They driving to Florence which was long and largely quite. The silence between the two made James uncomfortable so as they need their destination he decided to break the ice.

"This is my first time driving through the Italian countryside. It really is beautiful. If only it were warmer."

"Sure sir." replied Elsa.

"Okay. So our target lives in a luxury home on the outskirts of the city. He's a member of the Padania national football team but, since they only meet yearly like the actual Italian national football team he plays for regularly. Most of the time he plays for ACF Fiorentina in Florence. "

"I think I might of heard of him." said Elsa looking right at James.

"He's quite popular so his death will probably get plenty of media attention." said James, "He's a vocal supporter of the the Padania movement though, he claims to not support violence."

"Then, won't that turn people off of our cause?" asked Elsa.

"Smart girl and don't worry, I've got it covered." answered James.

"I just want to let you know, I'm going to do my best." said Elsa who then felt James pat her on the head.

"That's all I ask of you." replied the man.

* * *

The duo soon reached Florence and they headed to the hotel nearest the city. James presented himself as an American business man on vacation with his niece headed to Venice but, stopping here. He said they'd only be a day and leave tomorrow which went unquestioned. They two went to their room and unpacked then went out "sightseeing". They headed down town to an meet and greet of players of AFC Fiorentina and sure enough their target was there. Gino Risasso was six foot eve, 130 pounds, had black hair, hazel eyes and a fair skin tone.

"That's him. Dead center with the facial stubble." said James as he pointed out Risasso to Elsa.

"I see him sir." replied Elsa before asking skeptically, "Are we going to kill him here?"

"No. There are too many witnesses now. Just follow my lead." answered James as he got in line with Elsa waiting until they reached the front when a woman approached them.

"Hello sir, which player are you here to see?" asked the woman.

"Actually, my niece dragged me here. She had to see Gino Risasso." answered James smiling politely as the woman turned around, took a picture and handed it to Elsa,

"Is Mr. Risasso your favorite player?" asked the woman as she handed the girl a picture of Gino Risasso.

"Oh yes. He's my favorite player." answered Elsa with a fake smile following the lead of her handler before walking up to the table and placing it in front of Risasso.

"What's your name cutie?" asked Risasso flirtatiously.

"Elsa de Sica." answered the blonde trying not to shoot the man right now who signed the picture and handed it back to her.

"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." said Elsa with phony enthusiasm.

"Well thank you uncle here. Coming all the way to Italy then bringing you here." replied Risasso.

"You can tell I'm American." said James with a laugh, "I'm actually only here on a business trip to Venice. My friends were worried about me coming here with all the violence."

"If only those Stalinist tyrants in Rome would stop their oppression of the North. I don't condone terrorism but, they began this war." said Risasso which was warmly cheered by the crowd.

"I just hate innocent people dying." replied James as he quickly brushed off a painful memory, "_Damn, I knew talking about the KLA would bring that back._"

"But, of course if you don't want to start an argument never bring up politics or religion." joked Risasso.

"Amen to that." said James before returning to Elsa, "Well, I think it's time we go honey."

"Goodbye Mr. Risasso. Thank you for the autograph." said Elsa before leaving.

"Well that went well." said James as he noticed Elsa scowling, "I know you might not have enjoyed that but, it will work out in the end."

"If you say so sir." replied Elsa as they headed back to the hotel. When they did Elsa threw the autograph of Risasso away while James made a phone call to the Agency. After he hung up he picked the picture out of the trash.

"I just talked to Jean and we're all set. I convinced him digging into the dealings of Risasso could turn up more names and evidence so, we're going to stage a botched robbery and leave evidence this was an assassination." explained the ex-CIA agent.

"But, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of being undercover?" asked Elsa.

"That would be true except, we're going to make it look like the Republican Faction killed Risasso for being a moderate. That little speech I got him to giver earlier when he declared to that large crowd he didn't condone terrorism will be strong "motivation" and this will allow the Agency to take over the case. Plus, since he's so popular this could turn people off the Padania." answered James pulling out a cigarette and his lighter.

"You're so smart." said Elsa amazed.

"Jean said the same thing just not like that." replied James as she used the lighter to set fire to the autograph picture which in turn used to light his cigarette before throwing it in the trash, "Tonight, this star will be extinguished."

* * *

When night fell over the city, the two counter-terrorists made their move. James and Elsa slipped out of their apartment and made their way down the backstreets of Florence toward the home of Risasso. James was unarmed but, had a duffel bag with him while Elsa had only her SIG P229 semiautomatic pistol tucked into her pocket. Both were clad in black and had gloves on their hands to hide prints. The two then reached their location.

"Okay Elsa, I'm going in first and you stay close behind me. I'm going to stage the robbery then purposely create a noise to draw him out. I'll confront Risasso so we knows it's him then you jump out and kill him with your pistol." said James.

"I understand sir." replied Elsa as the two slipped into the backyard and made their way to a back window which consisted of a wooden frame and a dozen window panes in it.

"Even if he has a security system it doesn't matter since the police won't be able to get here fast enough and when they do finding him only helps us." said James who smashed a window panel close to the handle and opened the door heading inside with Elsa, gun drawn, behind him.

"How will we fake the robbery sir?" asked Elsa in a whisper as the walked through the vast kitchen and into a well furnished living room.

"I've done this before." answered James with a wink that made Elsa blush as he began grabbing items of value and tossing other things around for several minutes.

"He's still hasn't awoken." noted Elsa worried before noticing a smirk on her handler's face.

"He will now." replied James picking up a lamp and smashing it on the floor.

"Who's there?!" came the voice of Risasso from upstairs.

"Hide." whispered James as the star athlete ran down stairs to find James standing before him as Elsa hide behind a red couch nearby.

"You're the man from earlier!" cried Risasso.

"You got me." said James throwing his hands in the air, "I'm not a business man on vacation."

"The police will thrown you away!" snapped Risasso.

"Actually, being a counter-terrorist gives me immunity from that." replied James smiling, "Then again, funneling money to the Republican Faction when you claim to not condone terrorism is crime it's self and hypocritical."

"You son of a bitch!" screamed Risasso as he lunged at James.

"Now!" called out James who ducked while Elsa jumped up on the couch and emptied her entire magazine into Risasso.

"Target has been terminated." said Elsa who then felt James wrapped his arm around her neck.

"Good work Elsa. I've very proud of you." said the American which made the cyborg girl's face turn redder than a tomato.

"Th-The police should uh, be-becoming soon." stammered Elsa.

"I know." replied James as he pulled a ring out of his pocket, "And dropped in on the floor."

"What's that sir?" asked Elsa confused.

"All we need to frame the RF." answered James before he and Elsa made a clean getaway back to their hotel room, "Well Elsa, I think it's safe to say you and I have succeeded on our first mission."

"Sir, why did you drop those ring behind?" asked Elsa.

"There's a know Padania named Roberto Marin and he's a cop here in the city." answered James.

"So, he's the one were framing." said Elsa.

"He's not that innocent himself. We know he's a terrorist from intelligence but, he's also decorated so without physical evidence we haven't been able move. The ring I drop looked is one I bought at a pawn shop and it looks similar to one he is well know to possess. If they find that it gives a reason to bring outsiders into the case since he's a cop. Since "his ring" was the crime scene we'll come and and we'll tie him to the Padania with the intelligence we have so he goes down." explained James.

"You're really amazing." said Elsa awestruck.

"I learned a few tricks at the CIA. Besides, Jean liked it too and now two targets are gone with more possible."said James who spent the rest of the morning sightseeing with Elsa before the two headed home in the afternoon. The trip back to Rome was quite like the trip to Florence but, shortly after leaving Tuscany Elsa decided to speak up.

"I'm glad I was able to help you sir." said the blonde as she looked at her handler.

"You were perfect Elsa, I truly mean that. You need to give yourself more credit. You're not a failure." replied James with a smile that touched Elsa, "I have an idea, how about we continue or little history

"I'd like that." answered Elsa smiling.

"So, following prehistoric Italy came one of the first major civilizations: the Etruscan civilization based in what is now Tuscany, west Umbria and northern Latium with it's capital in Orvieto, Umbria . Much of Etruscan history was lost to the ages so we don't know were they came from."

"Is there any ideas?" asked Elsa.

"Some believe the might be Greek or Trojan but, the main hypothesis is they were from the Villanovan culture or possible from the Near East." answered James, "The Etruscan civilization was originally a monarchy but, some areas became oligarchic republics like the Rome would later do. Regardless, the Etruscan government was theocratic. The government was seeing as having power over all."

"What were their families like?" asked Elsa.

"Most tombs discovered had multiple people in it showing families were interred which allowed for the the growth similar to the gens in Rome and these Etruscan aristocratic families might have been the model for them. Couples were at the center of society and the Etruscan civilization was monogamous emphasizing pairings." answered James.

"So, they really influenced Rome." noted Elsa.

"Correct. Like Greece and Rome there was a significant military tradition in the Etruscan society. Like there neighbors, they conducted summer campaigns raiding neighbors and taking everything from resources to slaves. A POW would be ransomed back or possible used as a human sacrifice." said James.

"Distinct military traditions were common." mused Elsa.

"Right again." replied James, "The Etruscan civilization had a polytheistic religion. Like Greece and Rome they had multiple deities that ruled over the various aspects of life including deities seen in Grece-Roman traditions and Greek heroes. Their architecture was adapted from the Greeks and again heavily influenced Rome. Their art included sculpting and metal works with religion, specifically the afterlife, common themes. They even had their own language which is now extinct and our knowledge of is far from complete."

"And they were eventually conquered by the Romans." said Elsa.

"Correct you are, but they weren't the only ones here before Rome took over." replied James.

"They were Greeks in the South." said the blonde.

"Right again. You're a smart little one." said James tussling her hair, "In the eight and seventh centuries BCE, Greeks began to settle abroad setting up colonies in the Black Sea, Cyrenaica, Marseilles, Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Greek culture was exposed to Rome and widely absorbed while cities like Naples took off. The Pyrrhic War ended this as the Greek city-states in Italy were annexed by the Roman Republic."

"Then came Rome." said Elsa.

"Yes. But, we're entering Rome now so let's hold off a little on that." said James who added to himself, "_Elsa, you and I are a team. We'll stick together no matter what._"

A/N: So, there is Elsa and James' first mission done. I know some of you might have been expecting something more dramatic but, this was an easy mission, they will get harder, and it's not the missions that's the main focus it's the relationship between Elsa and James that is the center of this story. Next time, James tries to help Elsa be nicer to the other girls and a meteor shower might just help. Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am back now with chapter five of "Second Chance" here. This focuses solely on relationship between Elsa and James. By the way, I know I mentioned the meteor shower but, being silly I forgot that's later on (I've read up to chapter forty-two of the manga but, I stopped so I could re-read the chapters this story covers) and most of the last chapters. So, yeah that won't be until later on and I'll be moving things up a little bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

It was a chilly February afternoon in Rome, Italy. People walked around bundled to keep warm trying to stay warm in the weather. In a Roman park a man and and a little girl were enjoying a walk and to the untrained eye this seemed normal it was from from such.

"Well Elsa, are you enjoying our stroll through the park?" asked James as they walked.

"Yes sir." answered the little girl having recently passed a routine checkup with Dr. Bianchi.

"You're improving and I am glad to see you're staying in good health as well." said James.

"Um, thank you sir." replied Elsa as she tried to hide a blush.

"It's no problem. Now only if it was warmer." said James chuckling.

"Do you not like the cold sir?" asked Elsa noting he had stated this before.

"I'm from Massachusetts so I am used to it but, I still prefer the warm weather myself." answered James as the two passed through a path with trees on both sides.

"_This place feels familiar._" thought Elsa as the passed through it.

"What's wrong?" asked James noticing Elsa seemed oddly distracted, "And don't say things are fine."

"It's fine sir. I was just enjoying the scenery." answered Elsa behind her handler

"Okay then." replied James who wasn't totally convinced but, had no evidence to support otherwise.

Elsa, feeling guilty about lying to her handler, did feel somewhat relieved James seemed to buy her story but, as the two kept walking Elsa felt a sharp pain in her stomach as she kept walking behind her handler almost as if she had done this before.

* * *

The two eventually ended their walk and returned to the Agency. James went about doing his work while Elsa began preparing her weapons as she always did.

However, as she finished her third go around the little blonde felt nature call and headed for the bathroom. Elsa did her business and headed back to her room when another blonde cyborg came skipping down the hallway so lost in what she was doing she accidentally bumped into Elsa.

"Sorry Elsa." said Rico offering a hand to help the girl up but, Elsa would have no part of it.

"Watch were you're going!" snapped Elsa as she slapped Rico's hand away.

"I'm sorry." replied Rico repeating her earlier apology.

"What were you thinking?!" asked Elsa still mad.

"I wasn't paying attention." answered Rico.

"So, you weren't thinking! No surprise there!" spat Elsa.

"Hey, I already apologized." said Rico.

"I don't care about your stupid apology!" snapped Elsa.

"Why won't you just accept my apology?" asked Rico.

"Because I don't care about it!" answered Elsa angrily, "Just watch were you're going next time!"

"You don't have to be so rude!" cried Rico her temper rising.

"The only reason I tolerate you is because you're a comrade!" replied Elsa.

"You're mean!" snapped Rico.

"I least I have a brain in my head!" replied Elsa.

"What's going on here?" asked James who had heard the yelling.

"I bumped into Elsa and apologized but, she's still be a jerk!" answered Rico.

"Elsa why didn't you accept Rico's apology?" asked James getting stern.

"Because I don't care if she apologizes or not. If she watched were she was going instead of skipping around like an idiot I wouldn't have to!" answered Elsa.

"Rico is your sister and she already apologized to you. Now, you're going to apologize to her." ordered James.

"But sir-" protested Elsa.

"No buts, you apologize to Rico now." said her handler.

"I'm sorry Rico." said Elsa clearly forcing the words out of her mouth.

"It's okay." replied Rico smiling.

"Great. Now Rico, let's just keep between ourselves. There's no reason Jean needs to know." said James not wanting to be on the receiving end of the blonde man's anger.

"Okay." said Rico before skipping off again as James turned his attention back to Elsa.

Your room now." ordered the ex-CIA agent.

* * *

The two headed to the bedroom of Elsa closing the door after reaching their destination. Elsa sat on her bed while James pulled out the chair from the table and sat across from her.

"Elsa, why were you so mean to Rico?" asked James.

"Rico is an idiot." answered Elsa in a huff.

"Have you always been like this?" asked James concerned about the little blonde's attitude.

"I'm not really fond of any girls here." answered Elsa.

"This has to be a reason." said James.

"Angelica is worthless, Triela is the princess who can't do anything wrong, Claes isn't too bad but, I still can't stand her, Rico is an idiot and Henrietta makes me sick to look at." spat Elsa.

"I...really don't know what to say." replied James rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know why I even I need to spend time with them." said Elsa.

"You can't do everything by yourself." said James.

"I have been fine on my own." replied Elsa.

"If so then I wouldn't be here." pointed out James.

"This is different; you are my handler sir." said Elsa blushing slightly.

"There is no difference. Handler and cyborgs are all comrades. We function like a machine and a machine needs all parts to work." replied James.

"I understand." replied Elsa.

"I know you're a loner and that's fine. You can't force people to change but, you can be nice to your sisters." said James.

"I'm not sure if I can sir." said Elsa.

"Don't worry. I'll help you. We'll meet here early tomorrow." replied James.

"Yes sir." said Elsa.

* * *

The next morning Elsa got up early to get ready for her lessons from James. She was unsure about how this would turn out and how others would react but, since it was her handler's idea it had to be a good one.

She went to the cafeteria to get breakfast were she saw Henrietta and Rico sitting next to each other eating and laughing. Elsa figured James wanted her to be nicer with the other girls so she decided to try now and make him proud.

"Hello Elsa." said Henrietta noticing the blonde headed their way as Rico stuffed her face.

"Hello." replied Elsa trying to hid nervousness.

"Hi." said Rico clearly having having forgotten about yesterday.

"_At least Jean will recondition her soon so she won't remember at all._" said Elsa to herself.

"Do you want to sit with us?" asked Henrietta as the blonde gulped and felt her hands begin to shake.

"Your hands are shaking." said Rico point her spoon at Elsa's hands.

"Oh, I'll have Dr. Bianchi look at that." replied Elsa.

"So, do you want to sit with us?" asked Henrietta.

"No. I just wanted to remind you of the homework Mr. Hilshire gave us. I don't want you two bringing the rest of us down." answered Elsa before leaving disappointed in herself.

* * *

Elsa sat alone as usual and ate her breakfast. Once she finished she returned to her room to wait for James who arrived a few minutes later.

"Good morning Elsa." said James as he and Elsa sat across front each other like they day before.

"Good morning sir." replied Elsa still a bit disappointed with herself for early which James quickly picked up on.

"What's wrong?" asked James.

"I tried to eat with Henrietta and Rico but, I could bring myself to do so." answered Elsa upset, "I'm sorry sir."

"The fact you tried is a very good sign. I'm proud of you for that." replied James patting her on the head which quickly brightened the blonde's spirits.

"Okay, so now to figure out were to begin." said James, "I'll be the first to admit I'm no Dr. Phil."

"You said I needed to be nicer to the other girls. We could start there." suggested Elsa knowing her conditioning would make her sing like a canary.

"Okay. So, why do you dislike the other girls?" asked James.

"I told you yesterday my reasons sir." answered Elsa not trying to be rude just being honest.

"Yes but, I want you to be more specific." replied James.

"Okay sir." said Elsa.

"Let's start with Angelica." said James.

"Well, Angelica is totally useless." replied Elsa.

"She has been on plenty of missions." said James.

"Yes but, she's in the Infirmary again. She's spent more time there than in actual combat." said Elsa.

"Well, Angelica has been ill. Being the first cyborg she has had problems. Trail and error." said James feeling sick talking about a little girl like this.

"If she's too ill she shouldn't be fighting." replied Elsa.

"You might have a point there but, if she's healthy enough to fight she should be able to." said James.

"I guess." said Elsa admittedly seeing his point.

"Besides, she still wants to fight and volunteers for missions despite his constant illness. That's pretty brave." said James.

"Maybe." mused Elsa.

"Next." replied the ex-CIA agent.

"That would probably be Triela." said Elsa.

"You mentioned something about her being a princess." said James.

"Everyone sees that way. She's the little princess who can't do a damn thing wrong. Little Miss Perfect." said Elsa clearly disgusted.

"I must admit I haven't seen that too much myself." replied James.

"It's because you're new sir. Everyone else here always does that. I'm sick of people treating her like she's perfect." said Elsa.

"All of you girls have excellent qualities." said James.

"Everyone focuses on her." said Elsa huffing.

"I'm sure people focus on your good qualities." said James.

"Most of the people here can't stand me and frankly the feeling is mutual." replied Elsa.

"I'm know that isn't true." said James.

"It is sir but, I don't care." said Elsa acting calm, though James could hear the hurt in her words.

"Well, maybe if you were nicer to people they would have a better opinion of you." suggested James.

"Maybe." replied the blonde girl giving real though to the idea.

"I remember you mentioning you seemed to have a better view of Claes." said James.

"She doesn't go butting around into other people's business and she's not an idiot or crybaby like the others." explained Elsa.

"So, what is your problem with her?" asked James.

"She just overreacts." answered Elsa who decided to change topic, "I believe next is the idiot."

"You mean Rico?" asked James clearly not approving of the nickname.

"She is an idiot sir." answered Elsa, "She's a brain-dead idiot whose only good at sniping. You saw the mark on her cheek when we saw her at the gun range, she can't do anything right that's why Jean punishes her so much."

"Yes, Rico is carefree but, she's just acting like any young girl would act. And she does have her faults but, everyone does." replied James.

"Okay." said Elsa still clearly not agreeing.

"Lastly would be Henrietta." said James.

"Henrietta is a crybaby that can't last a minute without her handler! She's pathetic!" spat Elsa angrily.

"Were is this coming from?" asked James taken back by the aggressive display.

"To be honest I'm not totally sure myself sir." answered Elsa feeling like there was a specific reason for her harsh feelings.

"It seems like you're mad with Triela since people constantly praise her and Henrietta for being close to her handler. I suspect jealousy might be a motive." suggested James.

"I am not jealous of the other girls." replied Elsa not totally convinced herself.

"Ah, be weary of the green-eyed monster." replied James with a smile, "_I wonder if the others could have insight._"

"Um sir, I need to get to my first class." said Elsa who never thought she would be happy to sit through a lecture by Hilshire.

"You can't miss that. Go now and we'll meet up later." said James.

Yes sir." replied Elsa who gathered her things for class.

"Oh Elsa, I want you start spending more time with the other girls. You're attempt this morning was a good start but, I want you to spend time with them. Think of this as a mission from me." said James.

"Okay sir." said Elsa as she left her room with James behind her.

* * *

While Elsa went to her class, James caught up on work tracking Padania. Luckily, after the girl's class ended all the adults had a routine briefing secession giving James the chance he was looking for.

"Finally, we have recently secured another girl who will soon become our seventh cyborg. Her name is Gabrielle Perez and she is from Barcelona. She'll be arriving shortly. The only question still remaining is who her handler will be." said Jean finishing the updates, "Does anybody have a matter they would like to bring up.

"Actually I do." answered James seeing his chance, "I was wondering if I could insight into Elsa's behavior and past before I became her handler."

"That's an unusual request." noted Jose.

"I'm sure you all know that Elsa's personality leaves something to be desired. I've decided it's my duty as her handler to help her overcome this. I believe jealousy is a motive behind her behavior and I would like this insight to see if I can pinpoint the cause of it." explained James.

"Elsa has always been like that. I'm not sure if there is a single event that could have caused it." replied Hilshire.

"Conditioning makes these girls ultra-loyal to us so, maybe it's from her previous handler." said James causing everyone else in the room to gulp.

"Elsa's former handler was gunned down." said Jose.

"What happened?" asked James.

"They were ambushed in the park." answered Jean sticking to the story.

"What was he like?" asked James.

"He was just another handler." answered Hilshire lying.

"I assume Elsa was reconditioned so she doesn't remember him." replied James.

"You are correct." said Jean.

"What type of handler was he?" asked James, "I know every handler had a different style. Maybe something about his influenced Elsa."

"He had his own unique style." answered Jose knowing the man wouldn't react well to the truth.

"I see." replied James knowing full well they dodging an answer as Jean's phone went off.

"Jean Croce here." answered the blonde man taking the call than hanging up after a minute, "We've captured a terrorist bomb."

"Where?" asked Lorenzo.

"In Bologna. The target was a municipal building and the bomb was sent through a package. Luckily, it seems the bomb was a dud." answered Jean, "I'm going with Rico."

"Right. This meeting is dismissed." said Lorenzo and with that everyone began to leave.

"_It seems I'm going to have to do this by myself._" said James to himself as he departed.

A/N: And we'll end it there. I know this chapter might seem repetitive but, it's to set up the upcoming events. This is shaping up to be a long story so please bear with me. You might have guessed, and anyone who's read my earlier Gunslinger Girl story "Wild Card" will know, that Gabrielle Perez is in fact Beatrice. She, Bernardo and Alessandro will come in soon then of course Petra will come in later as well. The failed bombing in Bologna will be covered further next chapter as the intro arc ends and the next arc begins next chapter as well as Elsa starting in her attempt to be nicer to her sisters. All of that is next time so for now please review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I am now back with the next installment of "Second Chance". In this chapter, Elsa tries to get along with Angelica and the perpetrators of the failed bombing mentioned in the last chapter are revealed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

It was a cold day at the Social Welfare Agency. In the gun range, a fratello was finishing routine target practice and were preparing to leave.

"You're really good Elsa. I know guys back at the CIA who couldn't shoot half that good." said James who had finally got used to seeing Elsa filling another human being full of lead.

"Thank you sir." replied the little blonde as she packed her away her weapons.

"So Elsa, how are things going with the other girls?" asked James.

"They're fine sir." answered Elsa.

"Oh, so you're getting along fine now." replied James, knowing the girl wasn't being honest.

"They are sir." said Elsa feeling guilt about being dishonest.

"So, if I talk to the other girls they'll tell me the same thing." said James.

"No sir." admitted Elsa lowing her head.

"You need to start being nicer to your sisters." replied James.

"I try sir but, it's so difficult! They just get on my nerves to much!" cried Elsa.

"You don't need to push yourself too much. Just take small steps and overtime you'll improve." said James.

"Okay sir. I will try." said Elsa.

"Try focusing on one of your sisters at a time. Not only might that be easier for you but, it could also build confidence." suggested James.

"I will try that sir." replied Elsa.

"Try to find something you're both interest in. It's worked for us." noted James referring to their history lessons.

"Yes sir." said Elsa who then headed off uncertain.

* * *

Elsa began walking back to the Agency unsure of where to begin or how for that matter. As a result, the little blonde was deeply intrenched in thought she didn't notice as the answer to one of her sisters came running into her.

"I'm so sorry Elsa. I didn't see you there." apologized Angelica.

"Watch were you're going!" snapped Elsa before remembering what James had said to her, "It's...okay Angelica. Accidents happen."

"Are you okay?" asked Angelica knowing this type of behavior was weird for the girl.

"I'm fine. My handler believes I should be...nicer. So, I'm trying." answered Elsa struggling a bit.

"That's so nice of him." replied Angelica before adding sadly, "I wish Marco did things like that."

"_What a crybaby!_" spat Elsa to herself before taking a deep breath, "I'm sure he does things like that."

"No, he doesn't." said Angelica sadly.

"Don't feel too bad. I'm sure it's not on purpose." replied Elsa making things up as she went along.

"It feels like he doesn't even acknowledge I exist." said Angelica wiping away tears as Elsa felt a sharp pain in her heart.

"Angelica, I'm certain that is not the case. I've seen the way Marco treats you before; he does care for you and I know he always will. Marco Toni will never treat you like that purposely." said Elsa as serious and sincerely as Angelica had ever heard her talk to another girl.

"Thank...Thank you Elsa." stammered Angelica taken aback.

"It's..nothing." replied Elsa adverting her face.

"So, what are you doing now?" asked Angelica curiously.

"Well, James told me to be nicer to the other girls so, I guess I'm doing that now." answered Elsa confident this was what James wanted.

"Nice work Elsa." smiled James as he watched the girls leave.

* * *

The two girls headed inside and made their way to the bedroom of Angelica which was supposed to be Elsa's room as well before it was decided she would room alone since Angelica was often in the infirmary.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Angelica as she closed the bedroom door.

"I have no idea." answered Elsa uncomfortable.

"What do you usually do to pass time?" asked Angelica.

"Most of the time I clean and prepare my weapons." answered Elsa feeling like that was not a good answer.

"Oh. That's sad." noted Angelica before thinking hard.

"My handler advised me to find an interest we share." said Elsa grasping at straws.

"That's a great idea!" beamed Angelica.

"The problem is I didn't have anything to share with him outside work." Elsa replied disappointed in herself.

"Oh. That's not good." sighed Angelica.

"James is sharing is love of history with me." shrugged Elsa.

"History is confusing." moaned Angelica.

"Don't worry. I'm going to force it on you." said Elsa.

"Good. I'd probably fall asleep myself." laughed Angelica and even Elsa had a small chuckle.

"_I really just chuckled like that._" said Elsa to herself amazed.

"Let's just talk Elsa." suggested Angelica.

"That's okay with me." replied the blonde.

"So, how are things going with your handler?" asked Angelica.

"They're...okay." answered Elsa still feeling weird about talking to another girl like this.

"It seems like you really get along." noted Angelica.

"Yeah. James is a nice handler." replied Elsa blushingly slightly.

"That's great to hear." smiled Angelica.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised you're being so friendly to me." said Elsa.

"Why is that?" asked Angelica confused.

"I haven't been the nicest person here." answered Elsa now starting to feel guilt.

"I think that might be Priscilla." said Angelica.

"What I'm trying to say is, I know I've been a jerk and I honestly didn't think anyone could still treat me so well aside from my handler." explained Elsa.

"That's silly." giggles Angelica.

"How so?" asked Elsa know herself confused.

"You're one of my sisters and comrades. Of course I wouldn't hate you." answered Angelica.

"Thank...Thank you." stammered Elsa overwhelmed.

"No prob." smiled Angelica as the blonde felt her stomach grumble.

"Oh um..." stammered Elsa embarrassed.

"I think you need food." noted Angelica.

"Yeah. I'm actually craving ramen, I don't know why but, I know I had it before with..." replied Elsa before trailing off as a faceless man suddenly flashed in her mind.

"Elsa." said Angelica noticing how the other girl seemed distracted.

"I'm okay just lost my train of thought." laughed Elsa shrugging the event off as her stomach grumbled even harder.

"I think you should get food. Marco says I have quite the appetite myself though I don't think anyone eats more than Rico." said Angelica.

"That's not possible." replied Elsa laughing as she headed to the door, "Thank you Angelica."

"No problem." said Angelica as Elsa left.

"Wow. I actually talked to Angelica and laughed with her. Signore James has a valid point with his request. I know I can do this and he'll be proud of me too." beamed Elsa as she stared at her bracelet.

* * *

Meanwhile, James was busy himself digging up information. However, this was not information about Padania but, about Elsa's former handler.

"Lauro de Sica. Worked formerly with the AISI until he was discharged due to continuous errors. He used to be a quit talents then a work-related injury led to a painkiller addiction the effects of which led to his overall discharge. Lauro got clean but, the debt from his addiction led to his joining the Social Welfare Agency which gave him another shot." read James as he browsed the file of Lauro.

"Hey James." said Jose noticing the ex-CIA agent as he walked by the man holding an empty file.

"Hello Jose." replied James, "I'm just doing some researching."

"About what?" asked Jose.

"Elsa's former handler." answered James knowing Jose could be helpful.

"There's really nothing there you need to dig up." replied Jose trying to get James off the topic.

"Actually, I discovered he was addicted to painkillers." noted James.

"Oh." said Jose not knowing himself.

"I guess everyone has demons." shrugged James.

"You can't blame him for his addiction." agreed Jose.

" True." said James, "You knew Lauro."

"Yeah." replied Jose.

"I could only imagine how upset you all were when he died." said James.

"It wasn't sad. It's always hard to lose someone who've worked with." said Jose as he subconsciously rubbed his arm.

"Well, I better go find Elsa." said James who left saying to himself, "_Jose was lying when he said it was hard to lose Lauro. His body language made that too obvious; only rubbing his arm when he lied about that. That could only mean there was some turbulence between Lauro and the others which might have effected Elsa. Thank you Jose, you were most helpful._"

James continuously looked around for Elsa but, he was unable to find her anyone. Baffled. He wandered around until he got some unexpected help.

"Hello Signore Harrison." said Angelica as the young girl walked down the hall opposite James.

"Hey Angelica, you would happen to know were Elsa is?" asked James.

"Elsa and I were talking then she went to the cafeteria." answered Angelica.

"Thank you." replied James who headed to the cafeteria were he found Elsa.

"Hello sir." said Elsa who had just finished her food.

"I've been looking for you." said James who noticed a smile on Elsa's face, "Angelica told me you talked. It appears things went well."

"Yes sir. I have to admit you were right." said Elsa.

"Tell me what happened." said James happily as he and Elsa left the cafeteria and the blonde retelling what had occurred.

"Then I went to cafeteria and ate." concluded Elsa.

"I am very proud of you Elsa. Not only did you listen to me but, you got along with you sister." replied James.

"Thank you sir." said Elsa blushing.

"So Elsa, have you had any luck figuring out where your anti-social sentiment might have come from?" asked James trying to phrase the question perfectly.

"Not really." answered Elsa.

"_Should have seen that coming._" sighed James to himself.

"I'm sorry sir." Elsa said disappointed in herself.

"Oh it's fine Elsa. I didn't really expect it myself." said James patting her on the head.

"I guess I should try to talk to the other girls as well." said Elsa.

"That would probably be best." replied James already knowing the answer.

"I'll try the prince...Triela next." decided Elsa catching herself.

"Fine by me and nice work catching yourself." replied James, "Well, I have a meeting so we can catch up later."

"Goodbye sir." said Elsa as her handler left.

* * *

The meeting room was full as everyone had gathered as usual. The meeting was typical then came the final topic: the failed bombing in Bologna.

"I'm assuming we know whose responsible." said Jean.

"Indeed sir." replied Priscilla who had been digging for information on the failed attack.

"Right, then a fratello will be chosen to bring down the Padania. The Emilia-Romagna is weaker than others-" began Jean only to be interrupted.

"Actually sir, it wasn't the Republican Faction behind this attack." said Priscilla.

"Who was it then?" asked Jean.

"An underground source of mine says those responsible were the a small group based in Emilia-Romagna called the Red Guard which is a Marxist-Leninist group." answered Priscilla.

"To think communism still has followers in this day and age." sighed Olga having been born under a communist government herself.

"The group is a fringe group at best with only a few hundred members all based in the leftist Emilia-Romagna. They have a website trying to spread there message." said Priscilla, "Bandiera Rossa plays as soon as you go on. The word communism is used in the last sentence rather than socialism."

"They are two different ideologies." noted Hilshire.

"That was the line added during the Mussolini era." noted Marco.

"Correct. Bandiera Rossa was sung by communist partisans rather than other songs like Bella ciao due to it's open support of communism." said Ferro.

"Grandfather would always sing that to the three of us when we visited." noted Jose.

"Yeah. I'll never forget that." replied Jean feeling slightly nostalgic before quickly regaining his composure, "Priscilla, I'm certain you gathered a fair amount about this group."

"The group was founded in 2003 by a series of smaller groups all claiming to be successor to the Red Brigades which the group as a whole now claim. They gained some ground with the global recession but, they still remain strong only in Emilia-Romagna. Their official flag is a Padania flag except a red star instead of the current symbol. They claim to have worker's councils in several major cities ready to take over for the "elitist bourgeoisie capitalists" once a communist revolution arrives which they will be the vanguard of. They're current goal is a Marxist-Leninist state in Northern Italy believing since it's more industrialized the "oppressed masses" will be more willing to join even comparing Milan now to St. Petersberg on the eve of the Russian Revolution."

"Communists are against nationalism so wouldn't they try to establish a communist state in all of Italy?" asked Jose.

"Typical communist hypocrisy." answered Ferro.

"Regardless they're still terrorists and must be dealt with. Luckily, since they're small we might be able to snuff them out entirely." said Lorenzo as a hand raised.

"Elsa and I will take this. Just leave them to us sir." said James who had been quiet until now.

"Right. Then I'm trusting you and Elsa to shut this group down." replied Jean and James stood and stretched.

"You're faith is well placed." said James who left adding, "Four legs good, two legs bad."

A/N: And we'll end it there for the night. So, Elsa has begun trying to be nicer and has been encouraged while James dug into the past of Lauro. There are two reasons I chose a communist group for the first arc: first is the series focuses on the Republican Faction (which tends to seem rightist hence why the Red Guard are strong in the general left-leaning Emilia-Romagna) so I decided to mix things up and the second is I'm adding a far-right element in a later arc so I'm balancing things. The quote from James at the end is from "Animal Farm" by George Orwell who was a democratic socialist yet was also anti-communist much in the way I am a social democrat yet I'm also anti-communist. The ramen was a slight nod to C (Control) which was a good series. In other news, I'm returning to my other fanfic for this genre "GSG: The Twilight Zone". I'll be doing three new chapters; one next week for mid-January then six weeks before the second and a month for the third ending in March. After that it's going back on haitus. Anyway, next time our duo goes after this group. Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello to all I am back with my next installment of "Second Chance" and on the two year anniversary of joining this site too. In this chapter, James learns more about the Red Guard and forms a plan.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl but, I do own Francesca Verchetti

It was a warm spring morning in Rome. Several weeks had gone by since the failed bombing in Bologna by a communist group called the Red Guard and since then they had been quiet.

In an outdoor cafe in the Eternal City, a woman sat sipping a latte. She was in her late twenties with medium skin color, black hair, white blouse, red skirt and black thigh-high boots.

"Francesca Verchetti, I assume." said an American ex-CIA agent as he approached the woman.

"You are correct Signore Harrison." replied the woman as aid man sat down.

"I must admit, I was skeptical when you first contacted me. Honestly, I'm still not totally sure I can trust you." said James.

"Oh, I don't take it personal. Frankly, you wouldn't be very good at your job if you weren't." said Francesca.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." replied James.

"Now, you have what I want correct?" asked Francesca.

"Here you go. It's all unmarked and untraceable just like you wanted." answered James heading a briefcase of Euros to the woman who quickly checked it.

"Perfect." smiled Francesca.

"Money like this is hard to come by in this country nowadays." noted James lighting up a cigarette.

"Just more reason for me to do this job." shrugged Francesca putting the briefcase by her side.

"Let's get down to business." said James.

"Fine by me." said Francesca.

"Firstl, who's the leader of this group?" asked James.

"There is no one leader. The Red Guard is run by a series of workers' councils throughout Emilia-Romagna." answered Francesca.

"They won't get anywhere if they don't branch out more." said James.

"Oh they've tried. They tried to set up a workers' council in Lombardy and Veneto but, both of them were too small and quickly driven out by rightist often loyal to the Republican Faction." said Francesca.

"Well I'm not surprised. When you're following such an outdated and archaic ideology as communism it's hard to believe you'd get many followers. The whole world saw communism fail and the Eastern Bloc collapse." replied James.

"Very true Signore Harrison." said Francesca, "Anyway, they're five successful workers' councils currently in the country."

"I assume you know their locations." said the ex-CIA agent.

"The four branches are in Parma, Modena, Reggio and my hometown of Ravenna." replied Francesca.

"Well then am I to assume you're a Red Guard, or maybe a Padania?" asked James jokingly.

"You should know the answer. Personally, I do follow the current affairs of Italy but, I'm too political. Me and my lover Joey Mortella are my only come first." answered Francesca, "By the way, the Red Guard is currently trying to establish a new workers' council in Ferrara."

"Just more targets." shrugged James.

"The nerve of the group is in Bologna which they plan to establish as the capital of a People's Republic of Padania. It's called the Padania Supreme Soviet. Also, they've reached out to communist parties in this country with no support. The Italian Marxist-Leninist Party had interest but, when the Red Guard declared they wanted a Marxist Padania they declined as the PMLI favor a "united, red and socialist Italy" not a division of the country ." finished Francesca.

"Well then, it looks like my partner and I have our work cut out for us." said James taking a deep inhale of smoke.

"How exactly will you deal with this foe?" asked Francesca.

"I'm not totally sure yet." answered James taking a moment to think, "I'll have to plan out my mission with a fair amount of careful planning and strategy."

"If you ever need more help, I'm just a call away. You know my price." said Francesca.

"I may need you and if so I will call you again." said James standing up.

"Then the best advice I can give you is to plan out your moves as you've said. Treat this as a chess game." replied Francesca.

"That's good advice." noted the ex-CIA agent grinning.

"Well then the only thing I can wish you is good luck." said Francesca.

"I don't need luck. I've got justice on my side." replied James confidently as he put out his cigarette and left.

* * *

James left the cafe and returned to the Social Welfare Agency. The entire time he planned his next move. As he returned he was still pre-occupied with his new task.

"Hey James." said Alfonso as he and Amadeo walked down the hall but, the man too to distracted.

"Hello. Earth to James." said Amadeo snapping his fingers next to James' head.

"Oh sorry guys. I'm kind of busy with the whole Red Guard thing." said James.

"Did your informant work out?" asked Amadeo as he and Alfonso walked with James.

"Yes, she was very helpful." answered James.

"Hey, you'll be happy to hear this; you're not the new guy now." said Alfonso.

"Oh that's nice." said James, "I assume he's taking over the new cyborg."

"Yup. He just joined today. I saw Jean showing him around so he probably knows the nature of our business." replied Amadeo as the three saw the new man talking to Priscilla.

"Hello James; this is our new co-worker." said Priscilla.

"James Harrison, ex-CIA and formerly the new guy." said the American shaking the man's hand.

"Bernardo Clemente. I'm the one taking that title from you." replied the man smiling.

"So, I'm certain you'll the handler of the our newest cyborg." said James.

"Yeah. Not exactly what I expected to be signing up for." admitted Bernardo rubbing the back of his head.

"Let me give you advice from the last new handler; you'll likely feel uncomfortable at first but, it'll pass. Every handler has their own way of treating their girls so do what works for you and any jitters you may have will pass eventually." said James.

"Thanks for that." said Bernardo, "I'm think I'll named her...Beatrice."

"Nice name and it's no problem. The only other advice I could think of is don't get on Jean's bad side." replied James.

"He seemed like kind of a hard ass." laughed Bernardo.

"You don't know the have of it." sighed Alfonso.

"Ball buster is more like it." added Amadeo.

"I assume you're not talking about our boss." said Ferro sternly as she entered the scene and both men gulped.

"Is he really that bad?" asked Bernardo.

"He's non-nonsense but, I think that makes him a good boss." answered James.

"Well put." replied Ferro.

"Before I forget, you may notice his cyborg Rico bleeding or hurt. Well, Jean does use corporal punishment with her. So, just be aware." said James.

"Okay." replied Bernardo surprised by this.

"It's how he raises his cyborg. As James said, all handlers raise their cyborgs differently." said Ferro.

"So James, how was your information gathering?" asked Priscilla hoping to change topic.

"Good. The group is fairly small and localized. Shouldn't be too difficult. Nothing like the time I had to parachute into Taliban territory to assassinate an official." answered James.

"Ballsy man." laughed Bernardo.

"No, I'm just doing my job. Killing terrorist scum were every they are." said James.

"Remind not to get on your bad side either." replied Bernardo.

"My personal life is my own business." said James, "_Milena._"

"Are you alright?" asked Priscilla noticing the American seemed distracted.

"I'm fine." answered James shaking it off, "I just need a plan to figure this out. I want this planned out."

"Wise." noted Ferro.

"I must be off. If I'm going to do this I want it down to the detail." said James who left.

* * *

The American wandered around the SWA before heading to the spare Agency bedroom the handlers kept for overnight missions. He spent over an hour planning out his actions for the upcoming mission. When he felt he had things planned out he went to find Jean.

"Sir, it's Harrison. I wish to discuss the Red Guard case." said James out the door of his boss.

"Come in." replied Jean.

"Right sir." said James who entered to find the blonde man at his desk.

"Sir, I've gathered all the information I need and am ready to commence my mission against the Red Guard."

"What did you find?" asked Jean.

"The group is quit small localized only to Emilia-Romagna. They're are five workers' councils in Parma, Modena, Reggio and Ravenna plus, they're trying to establish one in Ferrara. Their main body, the Padania Supreme Soviet, is in Bologna. Plus, they have no political support. This shouldn't be too difficult." answered James.

"Good. I assume you have a way to deal with them." said Jean.

"I was debating methods for a while and couldn't decided whether to take them out one by one or to take them out in one fell swoop but, I've decided if I took them out at once the other members might go underground and may try to flee. I believe allowing Elsa and I to systematically pick these workers' councils off one by one will be more beneficial." explained James.

"I must admit, I have no personal qualms about making terrorists suffer before their deaths." noted Jean.

"I feel the same." replied James.

"You have a personal vendetta." said Jean with a smile.

"And you do as well sir." said James smiling.

"Exactly. I know your motive and I agree with them. I don't know what kind of vendetta you have but, I know how it feels to have one." said the blonde man.

"It has nothing to do with Padania, it's a general hatred." replied James solemnly, "Terrorists like the Padania are merely rats."

"And like rats, terrorists scatter when in danger." finished Jean.

"Exactly. This way the Red Guard won't be able to scatter and we can pick them all off. Then this group will never be a threat to the Italian people again." said the American.

"I approve your mission." replied Jean.

"Thank you sir." said James, "Then Operation Cursed Soldiers will begin."

"Naming your mission after the anti-communists militants in Poland." said Jean.

"It's fitting." remarked James with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yes sit is. You and Elsa begin your mission and the rest of our teams will take care of the Republican Faction. Luckily, we now have a new fratello to fill in for you two." said Jean.

"I met Bernardo earlier. He seemed easy going but, I could sense a willingness to kill in him." noted James.

"He's from Piedmont but, he's worked for the government for years. He's on our side." said Jean.

"By the way sir, how exactly did you know I have a person hatred for terrorists?" asked James.

"As you've said I have one myself and with the way you've talked I could sense it." answered Jean.

"I'm not too surprised." laughed James who turned to leave.

"Harrison, I don't know the cause of your vendetta but, I wish you the best of luck in gaining justice." said Jean.

"Thank you very much sir." replied James.

* * *

The American left Jean's office to find Elsa and inform her of their operation. Headed for the blond girl's room where he knew she would be.

"Elsa, it's me." called James knocking on her door.

"Come in sir." replied Elsa and when he did she stood at firm attention.

"At ease." laughed James amused by girl's seriousness.

"Right sir." said Elsa easing.

"Okay Elsa. So the Red Guard is a small groups localized to Emilia-Romagna. I've decided to nip this in the bud so we're going to pick these off groups off one by one." explained James, "They're four workers' councils and the main supreme soviet in Bologna."

"Which workers' council are we going after first sir?" asked Elsa.

"The Parma one will be first to go. We'll begin in the eastern part of Emilia-Romagna then work towards Bologna. Of course we'll skip over it first to make the leaders sweat." answered James, "Operation Cursed Soldiers is now under way."

"Right sir." replied Elsa.

"You need to relax more." said James.

"Okay." said the blonde.

"So, how are things with your girls?" asked James.

"They're fine sir. Though, Henrietta was crying about some kaleidoscope." answered Elsa.

"I assume you're trying to actually get along with the other girls." said James suspiciously.

"Yes sir! I'm talking more and making progress! Angelica and I have actually become quit friendly!" said Elsa enthusiastic to please her handler.

"Great to hear." replied James with a smile as he placed his hand on the blonde girl's head.

"Unfortunately, it will take a while due to our preoccupation with the Padania." noted Elsa.

"Luckily, we have a new fratello. Bernardo and his girl Beatrice will be able to fill in so we can focus solely on the Red Guard." said James, "I expect you'll be nice to her."

"Of course sir." replied Elsa.

"Good girl. Now get your rest we begin our mission tomorrow." said James.

"Yes sir." replied Elsa diligently.

A/N: We'll end there for now. So the mission begins and another fratello has been introduced here. Long time followers will remember Francesca from my earlier story "Wild Card". Next time, James and Elsa begin Operation Cursed Soldiers. Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello to all I have now returned with my next chapter of "Second Chance". Here, the history lesson continues and our duo face the Parma workers' council. This is a short chapter because there wasn't much I had planned here but, it is important. On a bit of good news, I might have found a new beta reader with my new friend Chronic Guardian who should begin editing next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

It was a rainy spring day in Parma, Italy. Most people were inside the building and the streets were barren. Among those inside were the Parma Workers' Council who were holding a routine meeting. However, a car with an ex-CIA agent and a not-so routine blonde were watching the building they were in and preparing to shut it down.

"Sir, how much long do we have to wait?" asked Elsa wanting to go into action and please her handler.

"Very soon. If we move too soon we risk compromising our mission." answered James.

"Okay." replied Elsa.

"Good girl. Now, when you go in you're to try and surprise the Red Guard and capture them. Keep deaths to a minimal if at all." explained James.

"Yes sir." said Elsa.

"It's weird. Most people can't stand the rain, but I really enjoy it." said Harrison making small-talk to pass the time.

"I do to sir. It's fresh and reviving. I like to watch it come down." said Elsa.

"That's exactly the same as me." smiled James.

"How lovely." said Elsa smiling which felt so different.

"So, how are your classes?" asked James clearly grasping at straws.

"They're okay. Rico and Henrietta struggle at times but, Triela and Claes help them. I don't need help myself sir." answered Elsa.

"It's always good to ask for help when you need it." said James.

"Okay sir." replied Elsa, "I have a question."

"Shoot." said James.

"How were you in school?" asked Elsa nervously.

"I did okay for myself. History and literature were enjoyable, science was fine too. It was math that I struggled with."

"I see." said the little blonde.

"Yeah. Math and me have never gotten along." replied James with a chuckle.

"Speaking of studies, can we continue our history lesson?" asked Elsa.

"Sure but, I am surprised you're asking me to start." answered James, "_Elsa is actually asking to start it._"

"I enjoy this sir." replied Elsa who was patted warmly on the head by her handler.

"We're on Rome now. I'm sure you probably know a lot about this already." said James.

"Yes but, I would still like to go over it with you." said Elsa.

"According to the Roman foundation myth, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus who were also demigods as they claimed descent from the war god Mars." began James.

"The Latin king, who had overthrown their father, ordered them drowned because he feared they'd try to take back the throne." added Elsa.

"Correct, Little Miss Smarty." said James playfully.

"Thank you." replied Elsa her face red.

"Anyway, a she-wolf saved and raised the boys who grew up and founded their own city on seven hills. A fight broke out and Remus was killed by his brother, probably one of the first cases of fratricide in history, who then became the first King of Rome." continued James.

"Sir, I though Cain and Abel was the first case of fratricide in history." replied Elsa.

"This could be. Unfortunately, exact dates are unknown." noted James.

"Rome had Seven Legendary Kings of Rome correct?" asked Elsa unsure.

"Correct." answered James, "Then of course that ended in 509 BC when the Roman Republic was founded."

"The rise of a great power." noted Elsa.

"The new republic consisted of elected officials held in balance by a system of check and balances. It was the inspiration for the governments of many countries including my own." said James.

"I remember reading that." said Elsa.

"The new republic started weak, in the 4th century BC the Eternal City was sacked by the Gauls. However, the Romans took up arms and subdued the peninsula." said James.

"Sort of a precursor to the modern unification of Italy." said Elsa.

"The last major threat came with the Pyrrhic War were Rome and Carthage defeated Greeks in Southern Italy. They were aided by the fact the Greek victories came with heavy losses." continued James.

"Hence the term Pyrrhic victory." noted Elsa.

"With the Greeks gone this led to a rivalry with Carthage and a trio of wars. The First Punic War ended with Rome gaining Sardinia and Sicily, the Second Punic War featured Hannibal and his famous march but, ended in Roman victory and the Third Punic War saw Rome raze Carthage to the ground securing it's position as the major power of the area." explained James.

"It was untouchable." said Elsa.

"Militarily it had no equal but, internal unrest was brewing within Rome." replied James.

"Like Spartacus and his rebellion." said Elsa.

"Correct you are. Rome was in trouble and needed someone to save it. Unto this stage of uncertainty stepped Julius Caesar."

"Why do so many people think Julius Caesar was emperor?" asked Elsa.

"Unfortunately this is a common mistake. Much like the emperors giving a thumbs down; they gave thumbs up for someone to be killed but, a mistranslation led to the popular misconception they gave thumbs down." answered James.

"I see." said Elsa understanding.

"So, Caesar began a brilliant military career bested noted for his conquest of Gaul. Truly, he was one of the greatest generals of history."

"As result of his eminence popularity the government the government feared he would take power but, when they ordered him to return he crossed the Rubicon with his army and took power." continued Elsa.

"As the ruler of Rome, he issued reforms and was popular with common people but, this again worried the established rulers and a conspiracy to assassinate him was put into effect." continued James.

"On 15 March 4 BC he entered the Senate and was brutally stabbed to death by the conspirators including his friend Brutus." added Elsa.

"The popular outcry led to the conspirators being killed and a power vacuum." added James.

"This was resolved when Octavian Caesar took power defeating his foes including Marcus Antony and Cleopatra VII annexing Egypt to Rome. With his rivals gone, Octavian crowned himself first emperor under the new name Augustus. This began the Roman Empire." finished Elsa as the rain died down.

"Very good Elsa. My little history buff." replied James playfully ruffling her hair.

Just then the two heard a noise and ducked. Peering over the bottom of the car windows they saw a group of terrorists heading inside the building they were staking out.

"Is that the last of the terrorists?" asked Elsa.

"Looks like it." answered James, "That means it's go time."

"I'm on it sir." said Elsa quickly pulling out her SIG P229 pistol.

"Remember, keep casualties to a minimum. You're job is to pin them in a position they can't fight and are forced to surrender." reminded James handing her a combat knife, "An old weapon of mine from Kosovo."

"I won't fail you sir." replied Elsa determined.

"I know you won't." replied James.

* * *

Elsa then took off for the building. She reached the door and found one guard present a combination of ignorance to their presence and small numbers.

"Easy." said Elsa to herself.

The little blonde then thought of a plan. After a minute of thinking of the best way to dispose of the man she decided to pull a move from Henrietta's book. Taking a deep breath the girl started walking right toward the man.

"Excuse me sir." said Elsa nervous, "I'm lost. Please help. I'm not from this country and lost my mother in a large crowd. I'm really scared."

"This isn't the place for little girls." replied the man.

"Please. I'm frightened and just want to find my mother!" cried Elsa putting on an Academy Award worthy performance.

"Fine. Just stay here and I'll be right back." said the man caving.

The guard turned his back to Elsa to headed inside. However, when he did the blonde pulled out the combat knife and lunged stabbing the man in the back. The guard hacked up a large amount of blood then fell to the ground. To make certain he was dead, Elsa slit his throat cutting both the carotid artery and jugular vain.

"Fool." spat Elsa as she whipped off the blood and headed inside.

Elsa slipped inside the building and followed the sounds of voices as she quietly made her move.

"Signore Harrison will be so proud." said Elsa to herself as she reached the room before kicking the door open, "Freeze terrorists! You'll all under arrest!"

"We are not surrendering to a little girl." said one of the Red Guard as he and the others stood up.

"You don't have a choice. You're going to pay for your terrorism." replied Elsa aiming her gun, "Hands were I can see them."

The terrorists raised the hands above their hands in surrender. Elsa was proud of her success but, before she could call victory she heard people coming up behind her and barely dodged a punch.

"You're not taking anyone." grinned the man that nearly punched her as the other terrorists grabbed their weapons.

"If you want to go, fine by me." snarled Elsa up to proving herself.

Elsa quickly slipped the gun in the her pocket as the man charged. By the way he fought, Elsa knew this guy had to have been a street fighter but, luckily he never faced an Agency girl before. Elsa grabbed his hand and quickly spun his arm around so fast the man torn his rotator cuff. Elsa then killed the man with a stiff knee to the temple.

"You little bitch!" spat one of the terrorists as several of them opened fire forcing Elsa to take cover behind the door of a neighboring apartment.

"At this rate my work will be more difficult then I first thought." said Elsa to herself as the gunfire stopped.

Staying mum, Elsa used her Agency improved hearing to footsteps coming. As she heard them nearing the door she swung it open and came out firing killing several terrorists in the action.

"_Crap. I'm supposed to be keeping these guys alive._" thought Elsa mentally slapping herself.

Elsa then ducked back behind the door and reloaded. When the terrorists had to reload she jumped out and began firing again but, this time she aimed at the stomach, arms or other places she could disarm the terrorists without killing them.

"One more." grinned Elsa jumping out, "It's all over. Just give up now and save yourself the pain."

"Never!" cried the man charging at Elsa who ducked and stabbed him in the stomach with the combat knife.

"Signore, mission accomplished." radioed Elsa to her handler.

James and the other agents who accompanied the fratello to Parma quickly rounded up the wounded terrorists and put them in custody then seized their weapons and other evidence.

"Elsa, good work. Thanks to you one of these terrorist cells has been shut down. I'm proud." said James approaching his girl.

"Thank you sir." replied Elsa blushing.

"Let's go home." said James and the two got into the man's car and left.

* * *

The entire trip back to Rome was relatively quit with James relaxing and Elsa smiling the entire way. When the reached the Agency the parked and headed inside. However, as the headed inside the noticed someone sitting on top of a building near the gun range whom they recognized as Triela. Just then Alfonso walked by.

"Hey Alfonso, what's up with Triela?" asked James.

"Oh right, you two weren't here. Well, our little princess got beat by a Padania on her last mission in Montalcino." answered Alfonso.

"That's not like her." noted Elsa feeling concerned for her sister.

"I'll say. She's taking it really hard." replied Alfonso as Elsa began to head toward the girl.

"No Elsa. It's best to let her be alone for now. You can talk to her when she's feeling better." said James stopping the blonde.

A/N: We'll end there for now. This was a little short but, not every chapter will be a novel. One of the Red Guard workers' councils are now gone, you know they won't like this, and Triela has been beaten by Pinocchio. Next time, the Red Guard react and Elsa talks to Triela and Claes in her quest to make amends. Please review.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I am now back with my next chapter of "Second Chance". I am re-postponing my other GSG fanfic "GSG: The Twilight Zone" for now but, I might pick it up again over the summer. This also marks the start of my partnership with my new beta reader so let's go.

Thanks to my pre-reader Chronic Guardian

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

In a dark room in the heart of Bologna, Italy a conference was going on. The Supreme Soviet of the Red Guard was in an emergency meeting to discuss current affairs. Namely, the reason that one-fifth of the members were absent. Wisely, those in attendance used pseudonyms as was customary to both cover their identities and pay homage to the former leaders of the communist cause.

"Now then, it seems the capitalist slave-masters have finally noticed us." said Marx addressing the situation at hand.

"Is it true? Was the entire Parma council eliminated?" asked Ho Chi Mihn.

"I'm afraid so. They've been obliterated." answered Engels.

"Typical bourgeois to use force to solve their problem." spat Lenin.

"Do we have any clue what occurred?" asked Castro.

"I am afraid not. The government fascists went in and removed our comrades then destroyed their evidence. They'll never fess up to their crimes." answered Mao disgusted.

"He's right. Our enemies are the same foes we've been battling for centuries." said Stalin, "We must take action."

"If we push too hard then we'll be inviting trouble. We must bide our time until the opportunity presents it's self." argued Khrushchev.

"We must crush them now or risk losing everything." replied Stalin showing signs of anger.

"He is correct, a lack of response will doom us. We must go on the offensive." said Mao.

"You're being too rash. We cannot jump the gun here or we'll risk leaving ourselves vulnerable." said Trotsky.

"You'll kill us all with that attitude!" cried Stalin.

"I agree with my contemporaries; I believe swift action must be taken." said Hoxha

"He's right. Like it or not, our foes cannot be taken lightly." said Deng Xiaoping.

"You always side with him. We need to take action." spat Stalin bitterly.

"Let's get back to the matter at hand." said Luxembourg one of the women in attendance.

"Right. Those bastards killed many of our comrades including the three representatives: Pol Pot, Molotov and Kim Il-sung. They must pay." said Che.

"We will see to that soon enough my friend." reassured Castro.

"Do we know exactly what happened?" asked Brezhnev.

"I am afraid not." answered Engels with a frustrated sigh.

"Now, I heard a rumor in the underground saying the Italian government is using little girls as assassins. Even wildly, the rumors claimed they were cyborgs." said Trotsky.

"That's ludicrous." replied Stalin.

"Maybe not. I did hear similar rumors myself." said Lenin.

"As have I. It seems our rivals, those capitalist dogs who call themselves "Padania", have already tangled with them more than once." said Che.

"Regardless, we cannot afford to jeopardize all we've accomplished so far by moving too soon. As for the government, we can deal with them when the times come. Let the capitalist flies enter our proletariat spiderweb." said Marx ending the meeting.

* * *

At the Social Welfare Agency, things were relatively calm at the time being. It was a pleasant if not slightly cloudy day in Rome with a minor wind. James and Elsa had finished up at the gun range and were heading back inside.

"You know Elsa, I really don't mind the wind when it's a gentle breeze. When it gets stronger though then I am not so much a fan." laughed James.

"I see." replied Elsa clearly preoccupied.

"What's wrong?" asked James sensing an issue.

"I feel weird about it but, I actually feel really concerned about Triela." answered Elsa.

"That means you feel empathy for her which is great. Just don't start feeling bad about killing terrorists." replied James.

"I won't sir and thank you." said Elsa before noting, "You're more open than other handlers."

"It's nothing. You know, there are people who question why I seem so open especially in this line of work. I feel that builds a bond with my partner and a strong bond between us is key to success." said James.

"That's really smart sir." said the little blonde.

"You know, maybe talking to Triela isn't a bad idea." thought James.

"I could make amends and try to cheer her up after being beaten." noted Elsa putting her plan together.

"Good thinking. And, I think she's in her room with Claes so you can kill two birds with one stone." said James smiling.

"I'll go right now." said Elsa who then headed off.

"That girl is making progress." said James happily to himself.

* * *

Elsa walked down the corridor to the bedroom of Triela and Claes. Elsa felt her heart moving slightly faster with ever step she took as she came closer and closer to her destination until she finally reached it. Elsa was nervous unsure what she could do if

"Okay. Here we go." sighed Elsa as she anxiously knocked on the door, "I can't fail Signore James."

"Who is it?" asked Triela casually.

"It's Elsa. I...need to talk to you and Claes." answered Elsa.

Elsa listen with her improved hearing as she heard a hushed debate. Elsa heard her name come up and quickly realized they were debating whether or not to let her in.

"Come in." replied Triela.

Elsa took one finally deep breath then opened the door. Steeping inside she found Triela holding one of her many teddy bears and looking at Elsa. Elsa who looked up and saw Claes in her bunk reading a book. Unlike Triela, Elsa got a frosty feeling from the glasses-wearing girl. Elsa shut the door and waked inside.

"Please have a seat." offered Triela trying to come off as happy.

"Okay." said Elsa sitting nervous as she sat at the table in the center of the room.

"What's up?" asked Triela.

"I'm here to try and make amends for the way I have behaved before." answered Elsa.

"Angelica told me about you two becoming close." noted Triela weighing the truth of Elsa's words.

"I began with her and now I'm here to do the same with you two." continued Elsa.

"That's really not necessary." said Triela putting Marcus Aurelius aside.

"Yes it is." replied Elsa determined, "Signore James has taught me that I should to change my attitude toward you girls. I have to do this."

"That's really nice." said Triela with an awkward laugh.

"I know that I've been cold to you two and...I'm sorry." said Elsa, swallowing her pride.

"It's fine Elsa. I never really held that against you." said Triela.

"Thank you so much." replied the little blonde.

"Tea?" asked Triela motioning to the tea pot on the table.

"Okay." answered Elsa awkwardly.

"Here you are." said Triela handing her the cup.

"Thank you. This is good." replied Elsa before taking a sip, "_I guess the other girls weren't just over hyping it._"

"Claes made it. The girl's a wiz." shrugged Triela.

"I've never had it before. I always excluded myself from the rest of you girls." noted Elsa guilt in her voice.

"Well now you've apologized and are you've got your act together. You're always welcome anytime you please." said Triela.

"Thank you." said Elsa followed a moment of silence before she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." answered Triela, though nobody believed the blatant lie.

"Look, I know what happened in Montalcino. You've never been beat before." said Elsa, "_I've never seen this side of her._"

"I'm fine okay. I just got caught off guard." said Triela hugging herself.

"Something Signore James as shown is me is to be open and not bottle your feelings up." said Elsa.

"I should have won that fight dammit!" cried out Triela frustrated.

"It's okay. Everyone messes up from time to time. It's not your fault." replied Elsa trying her best to help her sister.

"Thank you Elsa. It feels good to hear that even if the bastard is alive." said Triela amazed at the girl's behavior, "_The old Elsa would have scoffed at me being beaten._"

"I have to admit, I was really surprised to hear you were beaten." said Elsa.

"I underestimated the jerk." confessed Triela bitterly.

"That has to be really tough for you." replied Elsa.

"Losing to him made me feel..." began Triela.

"Useless." finished Elsa as a familiar feeling came back to her, "_Where is this coming from?_"

"Yeah." confirmed Triela sadly.

"It's weird but, I actually know how you feel." said Elsa this familiarity with feeling worthless confusing her.

"What do you mean?" asked Triela.

"I just know exactly what you mean." answered Elsa.

"You're handler had been really nice to you. You two remind me of Jose and Henrietta." noted Triela, "Frankly, I couldn't see how you'd feel worthless with him."

"Signore James is great but, it's just this feeling is there. I can't explain it but, I feel like somehow I know exactly how it's like to feel worthless. It's...weird."

"That is weird." agreed Triela, "_She must be having repressed memories resurface like Claes._"

"It's nothing really. Forget I even mentioned it." replied Elsa trying to change the subject.

"Say, have you ever been to Tuscany?" asked Triela.

"No but, it does sound nice." answered Elsa.

"_She doesn't remember that mission._" noted Triela to herself, "I just wondering because Rico went there with Jean a little while back and made it sound really wonderful. Though, I'll stick to Naples for now."

"I've never been there either." said Elsa.

"_I wonder if she recalls Lauro?_" asked Triela to herself, "Hey Elsa, I had the weirdest dream last night. I was walking along and preforming my regular duties as an agent but, I was with some strange guy not that hard head I call a fratello."

"That's weird. I've never had a dream like that myself so I can't really help figure out what it means." said Elsa, "Is it important?"

"That's fine." replied Triela who added to herself, "_So, she doesn't remember Lauro at all which means the conditioning is doing it's job. It's for the best._"

"I'm really happy you accept my apology." said Elsa before turning her attention to the other girl in the room, "Anyway, Claes, I am sorry to you too."

"Sorry Elsa, but it's not that easy." replied Claes coldly.

"What's your deal?" asked Triela surprised by her sister's behavior.

"I have my reasons." answered Claes flipping the pages in her book.

"I don't understand. I am sorry for the way I acted before." said Elsa surprised, "I'll spilling my dam heart out!"

"Cut the girl some slack. She's being sincere here." added Triela.

"Look, I have a personal reason okay." said Claes.

"Just tell us." replied Triela.

"Fine." said Claes sitting up in her bed, anger on her face.

* * *

It was several months earlier, a cold December day in Rome but, at the Social Welfare Agency the work never stopped. Several fratello were working while other agents did their routine jobs, Angelica was again in the infirmary and Claes preformed her usual tests which today comprised of vision analysis.

Returning form their latest mission was one of the agency's most promising fratello: Lauro and his girl Elsa. The little girl had assassinated a local politician with ties to Padania but, despite her success her handler still saw it necessary to criticize her.

"Elsa, you were sloppy today." said Lauro.

"What, did I do wrong?" asked Elsa hiding her disappointment.

"You took too long and could have easily been caught. I want you in and out without delays." answered Lauro bitterly.

"I'm sorry." replied Elsa sadly.

"Just get training or whatever. I need to be alone to...do paperwork or something." said Lauro who then left without even looking back.

Elsa walked down the hallway of the Social Welfare Agency carrying on as usual while trying to bury the sadness deep inside of her as she went to practice. As she headed to her room, she passed the bedroom shared by Triela and Claes. The door was opened and out of the corner of her fiber glass eye her perfect vision caught a pair of glasses on a window sill. Curious, Elsa walked to the glasses and picked them up.

"_Why would Claes need glasses when she has perfect vision thanks to Dr. Bianchi?_" asked Elsa to herself.

"Why are you here?" asked Claes who had just returned to her room.

"I saw these and was curious-" began Elsa holding the glasses.

"Give me those!" cried Claes snatching the glasses away.

"You didn't need to do that!" yelled Elsa.

"You shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you!" snapped Claes.

"Fine! I don't care about your stupid glasses!" yelled Elsa who then stormed off.

* * *

Silence engulfed the room as Claes ended. In bed, Claes had now removed her glasses and clutched them in her hands and against her chest. Triela only watched in silence.

"These glasses hold a very special meaning to me. I feel like...there was somebody I knew who gave me these. I can't remember them but, if I hold onto these there's some connection there." explained Claes.

"Claes, I am so sorry." replied Elsa as sincere as she could be, "I didn't know that and if I did I wouldn't have picked them up without asking you. It's weird but, I actually know exactly how you feel. Like, there's some person I was close to and just don't remember them. Of course, Signore James is my first and only handler so it must just be me. Anyway, I am really, really sorry and I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

"I forgive you Elsa." said Claes jumping off her bed, "I know you didn't mean any harm I just got overly protective."

"Thank you so much. I have to get going now." said Elsa who left.

"Well, really mature of you." noted Triela.

"It was her comment about remembering Lauro that made me forgive her. We have that in common." said Claes wishing she could remember the man in her dreams.

A/N: We'll end it for there now. I do not believe in character bashing and I want to clarify the reason I made Claes act as cold as she did early on was because if you watch the episode after Elsa dies or read the manga chapter after she dies you'll see that when the Section 1 agents arrive to question Triela and Claes about Elsa, Claes got up and left seemingly not to pleased when Elsa's name came up. I deduced the reason might have been an incident between them hence the glasses flashback. Next time, the history lesson continues as James and Elsa take on the Modena workers' council. Plus, Beatrice makes her debut. Please review.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hello to everyone I am back with my tenth installment of "Second Chance" with the next rad against the Padania Red Guard.

Thanks to my beat reader Chronic Guardian

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

At the Social Welfare Agency a little blonde girl was busy packing. Elsa was getting ready for the next mission with her handler and was finishing preparing.

"That should do it." said Elsa just as a knock came on her door.

"Elsa, are you ready?" asked the unmistakeably gentle voice of James.

"Yes sir." answered Elsa as she grabbed her bag and quickly headed for the door.

"Let's go then." smiled James.

* * *

The duo then cut through the Agency complex, heading to James' car outside. It was a warm Spring day in Rome so most of the windows at the SWA campus were open. As they walked the eaves of the buildings, they caught a glimpse of the Agency's number two Jean Croce, with his ever obedient girl Rico right behind him.

"You're aim was off again. Improve or I'll recondition you." said Jean sternly.

"Yes sir." replied Rico clearly disappointed.

"Signore, why is Jean so strict with Rico?" asked Elsa.

"That's just his nature. Jean is a perfectionist, it's not really surprising to me." answered James.

"Then that's why he's so distant from Rico." mused Elsa.

"If you love someone, keep them at a distance." said James staring of into space.

"I don't understand." replied Elsa confused.

"Jean's distance from Rico is proof he cares about her. Jean has suffered great loss in his life and he knows Rico's next battle could always be her last as it could for him. He doesn't want to be hurt again and he doesn't want Rico becoming too attached to him because if he were to die then she would go through the same heartache." explained James his mind clearly somewhere else.

"Signore." said Elsa concerned.

"Let's go." said James shaking his head.

The two kept walking and soon they neared the door. But, as they walked the saw Bernardo walking there direction with a girl by his side. Elsa didn't know her but, James, on the other hand, was informed on such matters.

"_Well, it looks like Gabrielle, or I guess Beatrice now, is finally ready to begin work._" thought James to himself before saying aloud, "Well Elsa, it seems we aren't the new fratello on the block anymore."

"Nope. Allow me to introduce you two. James and Elsa, I'd like you to meet Beatrice." replied Bernardo with a hearty smile.

"Hello." said the girl in a monotone voice.

"She's stoic but, I plan to fix that." added Bernardo grinning.

"Well, you could." noted James, glad to get his mind off the last topic.

"So, you two will be taking our place against the Republican Faction." noted Elsa, giving the duo a measuring look.

"I guess you must not have been good enough." replied Beatrice in the same monotone voice.

"What was that?!" demanded Elsa, clearly offend.

"Elsa, she's new don't forget so she doesn't know you yet. This also gives you a clean slate." said James.

"I... am sorry for my outburst." said Elsa swallowing her pride, "The reason my handler and I are currently not following the Republican Faction is because we are hunting down the Red Guard, a small communist terrorist organization."

"If that is true you must be a good fratello." said Beatrice, now understanding, "If you are trusted alone, you must be a skilled assassin."

"Signore James and I are indeed." replied Elsa confident.

"I'll agree with that."added James.

"Well, we need to get going now." said Bernardo who then lead Beatrice away

"Hold on!" cried Elsa causing the two to stop.

"What's wrong?" asked James.

"The terrorist you're chasing defeated Triela one of our best cyborgs." said the blonde, "Be careful."

"Understood." replied Beatrice before leaving with her handler.

"That was thoughtful of you." said James patting Elsa on the head.

* * *

In Modena, the workers' council of the Padania Red Guard were in meeting. The meeting was concerning the government's sudden interest in the group. The triumvirate in command used their pseudonyms again to conceal their identities against possible spies.

"It seems obvious the government is out to do us all in thus we must fight them before they can battle us." began Castro, "If we choose the battlefield, our chances of success greatly improve."

"Exactly. Luckily, I have expert military training just like namesake did. Thus, I will begin training you in extensive guerrilla combat to battle the government swines. You have received basic training, this will turn you into an elite vanguard." added Che.

"What if they arrive here sirs?" asked one of the council members nervously.

"If that were to occur we would waste no time in cutting them down." answered Hoxha.

"We are prepared for that possibility." added Castro.

"How so?" asked another council member.

"I have designed a trap to ensnare anyone that comes here. Once our scouts see government dogs coming we will get into formation and eliminate them!" answered Che to loud cheers.

* * *

In the countryside of Emilia-Romagna a car was speeding toward Modena. Inside, James Harrison and Elsa de Sica.

"Okay Elsa, we'll be there in a matter of minutes." said James focused on his mission.

"Should I spare anybody sir?" asked Elsa.

"Jean decided that this group is too small and isolated to be of any use information wise so kill them all." answered James.

"Can do signore." replied Elsa confident.

"I have no doubts." said James.

"Sir, you mentioned something earlier about Signore Jean losing people close to him." began Elsa.

"You're wondering if terrorist were involved. They Republican Faction was behind the event. I don't want to say too much especially if Jean finds out I told you. The wounds are still open." replied James.

"They've been brought to justice right sir?" asked Elsa.

"Most have but, they mastermind escaped. He was caught in Egypt but was rescued a by a trio of terrorists: one of whom was Cristiano Savonarola." answered James.

"The leader of the Lombardy faction of the RF." noted Elsa.

"Bingo." said James distracted, "The second was a rouge CIA agent. We think the person who defeated Triela might be the other. Her description of him matches the one the guards gave that day."

"I see." said Elsa noting James' behavior.

"I mustn't forget, above all else make sure the ruling triumvirate is killed." added James to his previous orders.

"They're the three in charge." replied Elsa.

"My girl, on top as always." said James with a smile.

"A know a triumvirate is a political regime ruled by three powerful officials. Just like the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar. " said Elsa.

"Oh yes our history lesson. Well, after Caesar's assassination the Second Triumvirate was established but, of course it collapsed into war ending the birth of the Roman Empire." said James.

"We left off with Octavian crowning himself Emperor Augustus." noted Elsa.

"Right. He crowned himself Emperor in 27 BC which led to the beginning of the greatest empire in history and Rome hit it's zenith." said James.

"The Roman Legions were practically invincible during this time." replied Elsa.

"During the zenith of the Roman Empire I would have to agree with you." said James, "Of course it wasn't just militarily that the Roman Empire flourished."

"They made many incredible cultural achievements too." noted Elsa.

"During the reign of Augustus, Rome entered the Golden Age of Roman Literature. It was during this time that Rufus, Horace, Ovid and Vergil produced their greatest masterpieces like the _Aeneid_ by Vergil." explained James.

"Some of the greatest classics ever." smiled Elsa.

"Indeed. Now, shortly after Augustus came Claudius who would become infamous." began James, "He did have military success such as the conquest of England and Wales which became the province of Britannia..."

"But, mentally he wasn't stable." finished Elsa.

"Correct. Most people figured that out when he tried to make Mr. Ed a Senator." said James laughing.

"Who is that?" asked Elsa.

"It was an old American TV show about a horse, the titular character, who is supposed to talk. Of course it's actually a human providing the voice." answered James.

"Oh, and Claudius did make his horse a senator." said Elsa getting it.

"Yeah. Though he was a saint compared to Nero." replied James.

"I think Nero was a sociopath." mused Elsa.

"He was. He murdered his mother, ruled tyrannically and used Christians as an alternative fuel source." said James, "Nero was just bat shit crazy."

"He also fiddled while Rome burned." stated Elsa.

"That is a popular story but, he actually helped rebuild Rome with his own money after it the Great Fire of Rome." noted James.

"I guess the rumor probably comes from the fact most people disliked him." replied Elsa as the two entered Modena.

"Yeah. Besides, Nero was fiddling but, it wasn't because Rome was burning. It was because he bet his soul against the Devil for a gold fiddle." joked James.

"What do you mean?" asked Elsa confused.

"It's from an old song, "The Devil went down to Georgia", from 1979. Basically, the Devil goes to Georgia and sees a boy named Johnny playing fiddle so the Devil bets him a gold fiddle against his soul in a contest which Johnny accepts. Both play but, Johnny wins getting his soul and the gold fiddle. It's as he told the Devil "I told you once you son of a bitch, I'm the best there's ever been." Of course, it was changed to "son of a gun" on the radio." explained James.

"I get it now." said Elsa.

"I'm full of obscure references but, I'll explain them." replied James, "Anyway, Nero was greatly disliked and chose to take his own life rather than be killed by a mob."

"Right." affirmed Elsa.

"Future emperors enjoyed the great splendors of the empire though threats loomed. Germanic tribes were a constant threat."continued James, "Emperor Hadrian built a wall on what is now Northern England to prevent attack from tribes in what the Romans called Caledonia and what is now called Scotland. Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor to to rule over the zenith of Rome."

"After that the empire began to crumble." continued Elsa as the car stopped outside a building.

"We'll pick up later." said James handing Elsa a gift, "It's your own combat knife."

"Thanks you sir." said Elsa taking the gift and grabbing her pistol.

"Take this too." said James grabbing Elsa's SIG 550 for her and handing it to the girl.

* * *

The little blonde left the car and headed toward the building which was an abandoned garage. As she closed in she saw one birds nearby and heard one chirp but, refused to get distracted. She reached the door and let herself with ease. As she quickly moved around she encountered no resistance and got uneasy.

"This is too easy." said Elsa softly.

"You're correct." replied a voice.

Elsa looked up and saw a squadron of heavily armed Red Guard flanking three men previously hidden.

"A much thanks to Mario for his lovely bird call." added a second of the three leaders.

"_Dammit. I shouldn't have brushed that aside._" mentally cursed Elsa.

"And now...you die." said the last man.

The communists aimed and open fire. Elsa quickly ran and managed to slide behind several stacks of tires. She could hear the air escaping from the temporary barriers and realized her protection was rapidly depleting.

"After her." said Castro, "She must have back-up somewhere. We can use the girl as bait."

"On me men." said Che who led a group toward the stranded blonde.

The men went over to were Elsa was guns drawn. They were confident of victory but, when they approached Elsa to apprehend her they cyborg got the jump on them. However, Elsa got a jump on the man and managed to draw first killing the terrorists including Che with her SIG 550.

"Fuck." said Hoxha taken aback.

Red Guard members aimed at Elsa but, the girl quickly reloaded and unleashed a hail of gunfire that cut them all down. Elsa quickly grabbed out her P229 and followed up gunning down more Red Guard members until her cartridge was empty. Elsa then pulled out her new combat knife and before kicking the deflated tires to cause a distraction.

"Stay Calm!" cried Castro only to see Elsa engaging and killing member and after member.

Castro grabbed a knife he kept in his back pocket and swung at Elsa who ducked and stabbed him in the stomach. The little blonde followed up grabbing his arm and quickly slitting his throat.

"You're finished." said Elsa who turned her attention to the remaining terrorists.

"Fall back." ordered Hoxha who knew this girl had them on the ropes.

"No way." huffed Elsa.

Elsa then quickly reloaded her SIG P229 and fired killing the remaining Red Guard except for Hoxha who was shot in the leg and kidney but, managed to limp off.

"Little freak." groaned Hoxha.

"I'm not failing Signore James. I will not fail in my mission." said Elsa as she reloaded and went after the man.

"Damn. I guess those rumors about cyborg children were right. I have to warn the others. Another workers' council cannot be shut down." said Hoxha barely able to keep himself on his feet.

The man staggered away but, he was no match for Elsa who quickly caught up with her cybernetic body. Faced with his immediate death, Hoxha decided to try a bluff in hopes of luring Elsa into a trap.

"If you let me surrender then I can turn over information to help you. I'll co-operate if you allow me to." said Hoxha, knowing he had more guns in the office.

"How can I trust you?" asked Elsa obvious skeptical.

"Because I only got put into this position after my successor died." answered Hoxha lying.

"_Jean decided that this group is too small and isolated to be of any use information wise so kill them all._" echoed the words of James through Elsa's head, "No deal."

Hoxha then made a terrible mistake charging at Elsa. The blonde dodged his punch and the man soon realized he picked a fight with the wrong girl. Hoxha quickly found himself on the defensive but, got lucky and landed a solid punch on the girl's cheek, sending her to the garage door.

"You're dead." spat Hoxha, grabbing a nearby tire iron and stalking over to Elsa.

While on the ground, Elsa had a vision enter her mind. She was in a bell tower staring at a sniper rifle. Suddenly, Henrietta's handler pushed her aside apologizing as he did it. Elsa also got a quick gimps of Henrietta out of her corner of her eye.

"See you in hell, you little freak." said Hoxha raising the tire iron.

Hoxha then swung down but, Elsa countered with a leg sweep that knocked the man down. He manages jumped up only to get Elsa's left forearm thrust into his chest shattering several ribs. Elsa followed up with right hook that shattered his jaw and sent a few teeth flying. Hoxha crashed onto the ground as Elsa grabbed the tire iron. Raising it above her head, Elsa then smashed the tool into the man's head half a dozen, times killing him.

"Mission accomplished." sighed Elsa, dropping the tool.

The blonde then walked back across the dead bodies sprawled out distracted by the weird vision she had. Once she reached the others she saw James observing her work. The man then looked over at the girl.

"Excellently done Elsa." said the man.

A/N: Two workers' councils are now gone and the Red Guard is quickly getting into a desperate way. Not to mention the vision Elsa had, I'm sure you all know what it was, which she can't forget about. She'll get the chance to investigate next chapter when she talks to Rico and Henrietta trying to mend the last two bridges she damaged under Lauro. Please review.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I am back again with chapter eleven of "Second Chance". Here, Elsa talks to Rico and Henrietta as well as try to get to the bottom of her vision from last time.

Thanks to my pre-reader Chronic Guardian

Disclaimer: I don't own Gunslinger Girl

It was a Spring day and the SWA was busy at work. Marco and Angelica had returned from action not to long ago and were rebuilding their relationship. However, a recent encounter with a Padania named Leonardo and Marco's ex-girlfriend Patricia had shaken them slightly. Meanwhile, the rest of Section 2 was protecting the chairwoman of the agency overseeing the Straits of Messina Bridge project. At the Agency, James and Elsa were finishing up with some target practice.

"Your aim is impeccable Elsa." said James as the two headed back to the main Agency campus from the shooting range.

"Thank you sir." replied Elsa smiling.

"Have you gotten the chance to talk to Henrietta and Rico yet?" asked James.

"Not yet, sir. The two of them got into a fight recently." answered Elsa, "Trying to make peace with them at a time like that didn't seem like a smart move."

"Oh yes I heard. Rico accidentally broke Henrietta's kaleidoscope." noted James.

"It's weird, at one point I would have felt fighting over something like that is stupid." replied Elsa as she placed her hand over her heart, "But, now I feel bad for Henrietta since the kaleidoscope was a gift from her handler. I know Rico didn't mean to break it but, losing a gift from your handler must be difficult."

"You're showing real empathy Elsa. That's very good. You've come along way since we first meet." said James patting her on the head.

"Thank you sir." said the blonde blushing slightly as she stared at her bracelet.

"I've heard that Henrietta and Rico have made up now so, if you wanted to talk to them, now could be a good time." said James.

"I'll go now." said Elsa before taking off, "_I also need to ask Henrietta about that vision._"

* * *

Elsa headed inside looking for Rico and Henrietta but, was initially unable to find either of them. Asking around, she then discovered they were currently on missions. Thus, she decided to wait for their return.

"This might be difficult." sighed Elsa as she waited.

"You did a great job Henrietta." came the voice of Jose, complementing his girl for another successful mission.

"Signore Jose, Henrietta." Elsa greeted as she approached the duo.

"Hello Elsa." said Jose.

"_Sorry Elsa." said Jose gently pushing Elsa aside and taking over her sniper rifle. _

"_What was that?_" asked Elsa to herself confused by the vision she'd just seen.

"Elsa, are you okay?" asked Jose noticing the girl seemed to be staring off into space.

"Yes sir. I am fine." answered Elsa promptly before turning her attention to her fellow cyborg, "Henrietta, I need to speak to you and Rico."

"This is part of James' wanting you to get along with the other girls." guessed Jose.

"Correct. I have made amends with all of the other girls except Henrietta and Rico." replied Elsa.

"I know Rico was out earlier on a mission but, I think they might be done now. If they are, Rico should be in our room." said Henrietta.

"Good, then can we talk there?" asked Elsa.

"Sure." answered Henrietta smiling, "I can go, right Jose?"

"Of course you can. You two go." answered Jose.

"Okay sir." replied Henrietta before she and Elsa left.

* * *

As they two walked to Rico's/Henrietta's bedroom, the blonde cyborg felt something was off. She honestly felt as if there was something that happened between them but, she couldn't figure out what it could be. She had disliked Henrietta previous but, she never knew why. As she walked, Elsa realized she was feeling light-headed.

"Elsa, are you okay?" asked Henrietta noticing the girl seemed to be stumbling.

"I'm okay. Just thinking." answered Elsa who then had another vision.

She was in her room with her SIG P550 rifle in her hand. It was nighttime and she was facing her door. She didn't understand why but, this had a familiar feel to it. The door then opened revealing Henrietta.

"_What do you want?" asked Elsa clearly unhappy by her visitor._

"_I thought...I thought that maybe we could talk." answered Henrietta softly._

_Henrietta then entered the room and stood only a short distance from Elsa. The blonde was none the less pleased by Henrietta's presence in her room. Whatever this was about, she wanted to waste as little time as possible._

"_We have nothing to talk about." said Elsa not even facing her "sister"._

"_But, it sounds like we might be working together someday soon." replied Henrietta as Elsa sat back down._

"_Well then I'll warn you now, if you even think about getting in...way, you'll regret it." said Elsa sternly._

"_Elsa, why do you push us all away?" asked Henrietta saddened._

"_Tell me, who's more important to you, your handler or the other cyborgs?" asked Elsa who continued speaking though Elsa couldn't hear anymore of her own words._

"_That's not...You know that's not true." said Henrietta shaking, "I like Jose. I like him a lot. But, there's gotta be more for us than just that."_

"_Well, I don't think there's anything left to talk about." replied Elsa as she returned to cleaning her gun, "Would you just leave."_

_With that Henrietta left the room leaving Elsa alone again. Elsa kept cleaning her gun and at one point she stared over at a nearby picture. The image was too blurry for her to make it out._

"Elsa, are you sure you're okay?" asked Henrietta snapping Elsa back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine Henrietta. Don't worry about me." answered the blonde.

"I think you should see Dr. Bianchi." said Henrietta clearly concerned.

"No, I'm fine. Really I am." replied Elsa.

"Okay then." said Henrietta not totally convinced.

"_Another one. When I was warning Henrietta in that vision, I told her not to get in someone's way but, the name was audible then that happened again when I asked her who was more important to her. The there was the blurry picture at the end. I need to figure out what's up with these weird visions._" said Elsa to herself.

* * *

Elsa and Henrietta made it to the room the latter shared with Rico. When they opened the door they found said blonde lying on her bed and resting after a mission. Both Henrietta and Elsa entered the room.

"Hello Henrietta. Hello Elsa." said Rico sitting up in her bed, "What's going on?"

"Elsa said she wanted to talk to us." answered Henrietta.

"Yes. It's something my handler wanted me to do and you two are the last girls I need to make amends with." added Elsa, "_I need to talk more to Henrietta so, I should make amends with Rico first._"

"Angelica, Triela and Claes told us about this. I think it's really nice." said Rico.

"Rico, I am sorry for the times I was mean or cold to you." said Elsa getting used to apologizing by now.

"I don't think you were every cold to me." replied Rico.

"The whole reason that Signore James had me do this is because you and I had an argument. That...and a few other instances." said Elsa.

"I don't remember that." said Rico shaking her head.

"You and I bumped into each other and I wouldn't accept your apology. Signore James broke up our fight and made me apologize." explained Elsa.

"I don't remember that at all." said Rico surprised.

"_Jean must have had her reconditioned._" said Elsa to herself.

"If that did happen then I'm sure it's all in the past." said Rico with a smile.

"It's not just that incident, I want to apologize for all the times that I've been like that. All the times I was harsh and pushed you away." said Elsa.

"It's fine Elsa. I don't hold anything against you. I forgive you." said Rico still smiling.

"Thank you Rico." replied Elsa.

"It's no problem." said Rico.

"That's good." sighed Elsa.

"I'm glad too see you becoming more friendly." said Henrietta.

"Thanks. Signore James thinks so too and to be honest, I'm actually enjoying myself." replied Elsa, "I don't know why I was so cold to all of you."

"Probably because of your loyalty to-" began Rico before seeing Henrietta motioning for her to stop.

"Loyalty to who?" asked Elsa.

"Nobody Elsa." answered Henrietta before grabbing her diary and writing a message.

"Writing a message to Jose huh." said Elsa, "But, why now?"

"No. It's for Rico." corrected Henrietta smoothly before handing the piece of paper to her roommate

_Rico, Signore Jean told us not to tell Elsa about Lauro remember. You can't mention him._

"Oh, I think I remember that now." replied Rico.

"What's the paper say?" asked Elsa curious.

"Nothing." answered Rico.

"It's a surprise. If we told you, it'd be ruined." added Henrietta seeing Elsa wasn't accepting Rico's answer.

"Well...okay then." said Elsa still skeptical but, brushing it aside.

"Good." sighed Henrietta.

"Anyway, Henrietta I need to apologize to you as well." said Elsa.

"It's like Rico said, I don't hold anything against you and I forgive you." replied Henrietta.

"Thank you." said Elsa.

"I'm sure your handler will be happy you've apologized to everyone." said Rico.

"True. I'm glad that he made me do this. We only get one fratello and I'm glad Signore James is the one I'm paired with." said Elsa smiling.

"Yup, only one fratello." said Henrietta slightly nervous.

"Hey Henrietta, have you and I ever been on a mission together?" asked Elsa catching the roommates by surprise.

"No." answered Henrietta decisively, trying to end this conversation there.

"It's weird but, I've been having these crazy visions lately." replied Elsa.

"What visions?" asked Rico, not helping the matter.

"It first began in Modena, I had a vision of you and I on a bell tower aiming sniper rifles when Signore Jose pushed me aside while apologizing. Then we you and Jose arrived here earlier I had the same vision of him apologizing to me and pushing me aside from a sniper rifle again. Finally, as we walked here I had a vision of us in my room talking and you saying it looked like you and I might be working together soon." explained Elsa.

"E_lsa is having memories of Lauro and her past._" noted Henrietta to herself before saying aloud,"That's weird, you should talk to Dr. Bianchi about it. Maybe he'll know what it means."

"No!" cried Elsa, "If I tell any adult about this, especially Dr. Bianchi, then I might be reconditioned. I don't want that."

"I get reconditioned all the time. It's really not that bad." said Rico.

"But, your memories are effected when you're reconditioned. I don't want to forget any memories of Signore James." replied Elsa.

"I understand." said Henrietta sympathetic, "We won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." said Elsa "I'm glad we got to talk like this."

* * *

After Elsa left, both Henrietta and Rico focused on the revelation she dropped. They both realized what this could mean.

"Signore Jean told us to never mention Lauro to Elsa. But, if she remembers him herself-" began Henrietta as she sat down at the table in the middle of their room.

"This could be bad." finished Rico.

"I told Elsa that we wouldn't tell anyone." noted the brunette.

"Signore Jean never did tell us to report anything." replied Rico.

"But, what if one of our handlers asks us about it?" asked Henrietta,

"Then, I'd have to tell him. I can't disobey Signore Jean." answered Rico.

"I couldn't lie to Signore Jose either." replied Henrietta knowing her sister would be punished more severely.

"Then we'll keep it to ourselves." decided Rico.

"Okay." agreed Henrietta.

* * *

In the hallway, Elsa was proud of herself. She'd made her peace with Henrietta and Rico which meant she'd done so with all her sisters. However, she still felt like something was wrong.

"_Damn, if I've never been on a mission with Henrietta before, what is with those freaky visions?_" asked Elsa to herself.

"There you are." came the familiar voice of James.

"Hello Signore James. You will be happy to know that I have made amends with all the girls here." reported Elsa proudly.

"I know you could do it." replied James patting the girl on her head.

"Th-Thank you." said Elsa blushing.

"For what?" asked James.

"For making me make amends with the others. I was hesitant at first but, I'm glad that I did know." answered Elsa.

"I'm glad to hear you say that." said James.

"I might even go to their next little tea party. Claes' food is amazing." said Elsa as they began to walk.

"Sounds great Elsa." said James.

"Of course, we will eliminate the remainder of the Red Guard first." replied Elsa confident.

"Exactly. Speaking of which, we have the location of the next workers' council we're going after." said James.

"Which one is it sir?" asked Elsa.

"The workers' council in Reggio." answered James, "After this they'll only be two left. Luckily, their security isn't pretty poor so information was easy to come by."

"I won't fail you sir." replied Elsa.

"I know you won't." said James.

"_There is no way I will fail. I have to push those visions aside for now._" said Elsa to herself.

"You and I make a good team. I'm glad we got paired up." quipped James.

"So am I sir." said Elsa, "_If I've never been on a mission with Henrietta then I wonder if those could be visions of the future. No, that's just stupid._"

"Are you alright?" asked James, "You seem...distracted."

"I'm fine sir." answered Elsa firmly, "_Nothing will come between us._"

A/N: There is chapter eleven and I hope you enjoyed this interesting one. Anyway, this is by no means the last we see of Elsa's visions as they will come on more frequent and more detailed. Next time, Elsa and James move against the next workers' council and the next installment of the history lesson. However, I should say I might be taking a hiatus from this to focus on my other fanfic "GSG: The Twilight Zone" due to Chronic Guardian being unavailable for the next few months. Please review.


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